Recommended by Claudia Haas

McGrath has written a beautiful play that encompasses life even as the characters deal with loss. It’s quirky, surprising, and spills over into the many aspects of love. The irony in the relationship of who is helping who combined with the tiny fragments of what makes up a life are woven seamlessly together. There is a gorgeous sense of different pieces of fabric coming together to form a quilt - a quilt that heals, warms, and comforts. It’s a gripping gem of a play.

Unfolding in real time, Fawcett’s play is a testament to the power of live theatre. I imagine breathing in the sweet spices of the pie as Miriam recalls her young son’s tenderness. She peels. And as she peels she uncovers her own layers. The juxtaposition of nature, nurture, motherly love and maternal fear bounce off of each other. You are shook.

How sweet this is! Love wins again. PMW knows how to go high when they go low and he does it with wit and class. Start or end your day with this play - it will put a spring in your step and a smile for the world. The world needs more smiles and Good Vibrations supplies them.

What a powerhouse of a play! Radtke’s characters live a lifetime in ten minutes. Everything is discussed that should have been discussed earlier. Brutally honest but constructed with care, this play should be done everywhere (and not just in high schools) to continue this conversation. The roles are multi-layered enough to challenge a teen performer. Never did a ticking clock have so much meaning.

I will never look at my morning toast the same way again. Or maybe - just maybe - I’ll let it burn just a little. In solidarity with Bread’s ex-girlfriends. Silly to the extreme but since bread is one of the mainstays of life, you’d like your bread to have some integrity. I would love to see this staged. But what loaf of bread would work? Honey-wheat? Raisin-nut?

August gives us what we’ve always known. The frozen food aisle has no rhyme nor reason and once you question the frozen food aisle - you question everything. If you haven’t had an existential crisis grocery shopping, it’s coming. Frozen Foods is both funny and kind of frightening when you see the truth of it. Excuse me. My freezer is calling to me.

Finally a play that has all the strict parameters of theatre and all the endless angst of humanity. What happens when Martin leaves the stage? You decide. Clever, well thought out and you laugh until there is an end. There are always endings.

Whatever human is living with Fish and Cat has no idea what they are missing. An improbable friendship. A lesson in life. A knowledge that is all pared down. The sun rises. The sun sets. And there we go. Yes, absurd. But can absurd have a tender side? I hope wherever you are, the gravel is edible and you have a friendship close to what Fish and Cat have.

A glimpse of heartbreak in one minute. Martin finds the honesty in every situation.

I had this conversation. Has everyone? Poignant with a hard truth shining through.