Recommended by Claudia Haas

This is a stunner. While you’re smiling and nodding that Micky’s new supernatural app would be fun, you wonder about the strange happenings in the cabin that cannot be pinpointed. A sweet romantic comedy comes to a very twisty ending. You never saw it coming. This is an amazing piece for two actors and hands a short but meaty play to the audiences.

Oh the horror - I know those guys. (Even worse, maybe some part of me mimics those guys.) If you’ve ever been to an elementary school competition (or a Pinewood Derby race) you will be wide-eyed with laughter. The generation that devised the “participation ribbon” deserves this. Wickedly funny and absolutely plausible, this ten-minute hits all the bases. I’m not surprised by all the productions it has garnered.

Mandy’s monologue gives us an accurate glimpse of rural America, their future and the National Guard as a lifeline. It’s a moving portrayal of a young woman who understands what awaits her boyfriend - better than he does. He is working out to get ripped. But she is researching the chances of him coming home in one piece. There’s a debate raging whether or not the National Guard should be called to active duty abroad or attend only to national emergencies. Wyndham’s monologue gets into the thick of things.

This is just pure delight from start to finish. It’s at all times quirky and unexpected as we watch three sisters try to help their cat - wishing Putsy had at least eaten the evidence after “the kill.” A parrot who can recite novenas, a how-to primer on catching a cat with bologna on a stick plus three terrific roles for young Latina actresses awaits you. Read it, produce it, buy a ticket to it.

So much fear, bravery and irony out of the mouth of a middle school student - and all is believable. The fact that a child this age has thought through lockdowns and what is workable and what is nonsense speaks volumes to the mindset of a school child today. Yes, 98 pound weaklings can be heroes. Bullies can be cowards. But there are no absolutes. Wyndham thoughtfully builds a scene with great detail. You picture the lockdown drill. You hear the desk being moved. You wish they didn't have to go through this.

I am loving Martin’s plays for elementary school students. Yes, they serve a purpose but he unfolds these students’ problems in the most heartening, sweet way. As Inez is teased about her math abilities, she gains an appreciation that her friends have special abilities and all should be celebrated. You have to love a teacher who really knows knows kids and “sees all.” A hidden bonus: students will probably get prime numbers. And there’s a killer “plant” line at the end.

First: the cast of characters have the best names! This is a play with endless imagination, empathetic and gloriously “weird” characters that will make you want to join their game. The undercurrent of the play is kindness and it is abundant here. Young audiences and young performers will be enchanted.

This needs to be a trilogy. I was left wanting more - a whole lot more. This exploration of relationships (Johnson covers every type of relationship known to humanity) was beautiful and always surprising. The time travel was seamlessly interwoven as plots and subplots took root and blossomed. The care put into the two time periods took away any assumptions I had (as with Marie). The dialogue crackles, the characters envelop you and the pace is swift and sure. I so want to see this onstage. (Please, Twin Cities.)

Women in the 1950's bond. And we're talking, major, no-holds barred, life or death "all for one and one for all." What starts out weirdly domestic, takes a turn - for better or worse? A dark comedy satirizing the politics of the time. The four female roles are complex, strong, physical and wildly funny.

I remember that Son of Sam summer and Ryan captures the heat of those days. I love how Ryan delves into a fairly dysfunctional family but still manages to give them grace notes. Laced with comedy, the dark undercurrents run deep. Reenie smashes your heart. The imagery of the tar beach and Reenie’s mask stay with you. Gorgeous roles for three female teens.