Filled with lovably endearing, if fractiously irritating family members, this play is a wonderfully contemporary model of the “family drama” genre. Sharp, funny dialogue, stakes which keep rising, and those aforementioned family members all bumping off each other like balls in an out of control pinball machine, along with that beautifully quiet, perfectly pitched ending, make Fernandez’ script a winner.

The writing has such beautiful intimacy, that we really get to know and feel for the characters and this family. The script raises questions about family, responsibility and when is it time to go. The dialogue moves and takes you to a wonderful, wordless ending. A great read, I’d love to see it on stage!

READ THIS PLAY! While Rosa is consciously evoking familiar family melodramas of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, her characters occupy a distinct psychological landscape and bring their own unique, fractious dynamic to the dinner table. The dialogue absolutely crackles in performance. Julia and Baby transcend simple character descriptions, becoming individuals of human dimension and remaining vivid in my mind years after I first encountered them. Julia's relationship with Nene also explodes expectations and feels unlike any other stage romance I can recall. We'll all be talking about "Rosa Fernandez" ten years from now - why wait?