The first I heard of the Lilly Awards was when I was lucky enough to be invited to the fourth annual ceremony on June 3rd, 2013, at Playwrights Horizons presented by The Committee for Recognizing Women in Theater.

The Assembled Parties is one of the few original plays to debut on Broadway this season -- and it's a winner. Opening in a grand Upper West Side apartment populated by assimilated Jews, it addresses searing issues of family, class and culture.

It's a strongly recommended drama that takes place on Manhattan's Central Park West in a beautifully furnished 14-room apartment, the confusing layout of which eventually becomes a metaphor for all the lost souls trying to find their way in a perplexing, disappointing life.