Recommended by Claudia Haas

Maybe dyeing your hair blue is the only sane reaction to what happens as you start to understand life. Mavromatis’s characters spar and crackle and delight. What starts out as a maybe bizarre decision by a 39 year-old-man to turn his hair blue evolves into something else. What if you’re halfway through life and know that where you are and what you're doing could be construed as nonsense? What does depression look like at 39? A take on the tolls of corporate America and its price on the spirit.

I am a sucker for two people in a lifeboat. Two men escaping the French revolution? Mon Dieu! How far will you go for your beliefs? Is art a deciding point? When is life a deterrent? Both silly and possibly tragic as life can be, the ending makes you wonder. About life. And art. And life.

An endless winter, a ham, turtles, lilacs, yellow flowers - Partain’s imagery soars in this play that could be tomorrow or later. Or yesterday. Does spring ever come? Does life endure? 10,000 years asks the big questions. You figure out the answers. Or maybe there aren’t any. Lots to think about here.

A totally nuts, screwball comedy that will have you craving cream puffs. Really, what more do you need in life? I love the last image - it just stayed with me. A confection of a play.

Can we see this couple yearly? Maybe they’re together. Maybe not. A little sizzler for the romantic comedy genre that endears you to both characters. Maybe they should be together. Maybe not. But you certainly want to see another meeting. Maybe at a steak joint? Delightful roles where two actors can use their comedic skills to the hilt.

This play has everything (well maybe it’s lacking essential oils) to give you the most perfect, well-rounded, all-you-can-wish-for family life. A bedtime story turns into a “why you were born” story turns into a search-for-enlightenment story turns into a fertility story.... you get the picture. Wonderful satire on the things we grab to get what we want. A little mad cap, a lot funny with some searing truths if you want to think. Rich and wonderfully nutty roles for the actors with endless staging possibilities.

It’s a romantic comedy ... wait - it’s a farce - no wait! It’s a superhero story. Or it may be the best fish tale ever told. I’ll go with all of them. The theatricality buzzes, the misguided poetry soars, and Higbee has concocted a tale of constant surprise. Not since Romeo and Juliet has “love at first sight” caused so much intrigue. Higbee balances laughs galore with an underlying charm that lures you in. Read it and give your spirit a good belly laugh. Produce it and your audiences will thank you.

It’s the history nobody wants to teach. It’s the history that continues today because nobody will acknowledge the past. It’s the history that should be put on a stage now so that we can create a better history. Meticulously researched, what we do to each other needs to be addressed so we can do better. I’d love to see this in high schools and colleges so the young can experience our past, present, and future.

Our local library was remodeled not long ago and now it is hard to find a book. Gill’s satire is right on the mark. And I wonder because I can now check out videos, cd’s, art work and sports equipment - can alcohol be far behind? The juxtaposition of Erica starting a new life with a library card and the library starting a new life with alcohol makes me crave a library book accompanied by a drink. Clever, timely, and too close for comfort.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner meets screwball comedy meets MGM’s star-studded past meets the National Enquirer and more. I never thought I’d laugh so much over the machinations of moving a dead body. DeVita’s and Lyons’ homage to two screen-greats sparkle and crackle and deliver page after page. Through it all, there is a thread of poignancy and love for these people. DeVita and Lyons take “just a rumor” of those times and endear yourself to each character. Theatres: take a break from Royal Family and do this play instead. Audiences will follow and love.