Recommended by Claudia Haas

An outlandish and original premise is at work here. Twin sisters who share a mammary gland are working the ins and outs of trying on a bikini with amazingly different results. And wait till they attempt to leave the dressing room ... A Shared Mammary presents endless opportunities for physical clowning and imaginative staging in a confined space. Bonus: The play has two strong, comedic female characters.

“Not everyone blooms.” And that is the exact moment where you start wishing and cheering the characters on saying, “Bloom. bloom.” A slice of life of what “could have been” with an ending of “what may come” gives for a poignant, satisfactory play of love and yearning. Sickles has the knack for finding the humanity in his characters and he delivers this in spades.

Kimmel hands us a holiday feast. The matza may be meager but it was done with care and in the end - the bakery got what they expected. Even if they hoped for more. Using Passover and matza to highlight class differences, Kimmel gives us the class differences that have existed throughout time but personalizes it with the hopes of laborer and the outlook of the rich. The answer lies not in the wishes of the worker but in the reality of the situation. The outcome gives us the good of humanity while acknowledging our shortcomings.

The Harry Potter series imagined a world where house elves were unionized. Burch takes this idea further and has the elves debating whether to go “on brand” with Mattel or Hasbro or stick with good old Santa. Over a poker game, the elves fight over their cute status versus their slave labor position. Burch keeps it lively and makes you wonder what could happen if the elves hijacked Christmas. Oh wait! Maybe they did.

This hit me in the gut. Where do the bullies go when there is no school? Or - what do we find about the bullies when honest communication is possible? A beautiful moment of wanting to do better, wishing for forgiveness without knowing if it is warranted. Do new times give rise to new relationships? Can we find the “good” in the “difficult?” Minigan gives hope in these sheleting-in-place days.

A rom-com that’s not all hearts and roses? Where else can one declare true love but on a fake green lawn? A “maybe” love that “probably” could lead to marriage if you believe in that sort of thing. Sweetly cynical and a sign of our times. Love is a many faceted thing and Martin brings all these facets together for a hole-in-one.

“Why is Leah still frozen?” “Because the playwright can’t write female characters.” And so the play continues, delivering an entree of horrible coincidences, bad female dialogue, and cliches that would induce labor in some of the population. The play gives us - in style - what is promised. And it couldn’t be more fun for the actors and audience.

Sweetest time traveling tale ever. I want all of this to be true. i want it onstage. I want to smile at the perfect ending. I want to time travel. Such a human response to our deepest wishes.

God is dead. Do we even make potato salad for picnics anymore? What does it mean? And a small town finds out - gee maybe it means easy judgement is gone, a “food for thought” short play that doesn’t judge.

Maybe the world does not need another Christmas Carol. Or maybe the world needs Svich’s version - inspired by social justice. It’s updated, the sentiment is played down but the interaction between the humans in the past, present and future ring true. There’s some snappy dialogue to be sure and redemption. But Svich bypasses a lot of the easy to make the transformation of Goodge (her Scrooge) come slowly with care. A small cast, some soaring hymns that speak of humanity make this easy to stage and produces the same hope that Dickens does,