CHRISTMAS 2.0

All Angela wants is a happy Christmas--or a more exciting life--but her daughter's left for college, her husband's obsessed with fantasy football, the plumbing's a mess, and her cat won't stop peeing where he shouldn't. Mom May thinks she should get a hobby--or a handyman--but a run-in with old friend Kelly leaves Angela aspiring to the thrills her pal gets from social media. Before...
All Angela wants is a happy Christmas--or a more exciting life--but her daughter's left for college, her husband's obsessed with fantasy football, the plumbing's a mess, and her cat won't stop peeing where he shouldn't. Mom May thinks she should get a hobby--or a handyman--but a run-in with old friend Kelly leaves Angela aspiring to the thrills her pal gets from social media. Before long, Angela's giving Candy Crush lives to high school sweetheart Billy Sweeney, despite Kelly's warnings that Billy's a guy who uses shouty caps and the wrong form of your. Ignoring the danger signs, Angela invites Billy to fix her pipes, and the former prom dates find themselves bonding over flip phones as they color Christmas pictures by the fire. Their nostalgic bliss is interrupted by an ominous phone call from Kelly, but not before Angela's cat and her husband catch them in the act and force everybody, including May, to adopt a healthier relationship with technology.

This play was workshopped at the 2015 Hormel Festival of New Works at Phoenix Theatre and the third place winner of the Pickering Prize for Playwriting Excellence.
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CHRISTMAS 2.0

Recommended by

  • Laura Zlatos:
    23 Apr. 2019
    A charming holiday play about marriage, cat pee, and our dependence on social media. Hoke weaves a new kind of Christmas story about a lonely and lovable luddite in the digital age that is both funny and heartwarming.
  • David Lee White:
    19 Feb. 2019
    A timely and VERY funny play about marriage, loneliness, the holidays and the lure of social media. Hoke creates a believable set of characters and relationships, then provides them with quick, funny dialogue to keep things buoyant. I laughed out loud several times while reading this. The script is family-friendly with just enough "wink, wink, nudge, nudge" moments to keep things from getting overly sentimental. It's clever, it's smart and would make a great alternative to more traditional holiday fare.
  • Dominica Plummer:
    28 Dec. 2018
    I loved this heart-warming play about empty nests, traveling husbands, incontinent cats, and the perils of social media. Donna Hoke gives us a seasonal, laugh out loud drama that feels utterly true to life, yet still manages to give us the happy ending that we all hope for at Christmas. Perfect!

Character Information

  • Angela
    37,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    A stay-at-home mom who no longer has a child at home
  • Jeff
    37-42,
    Any
    ,
    Male
    Angela's husband, a little unaware
  • Kelly
    37,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    high school friend of Angela's, social media addict
  • May
    70, Array,
    Female
    Angela's mother, a Luddite with lots of advice
  • Billy
    37,
    Any
    ,
    Male
    Angela's high school sweetheart, a cute and charming dolt

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Rogers Theatre
    ,
    2021
  • Reading
    ,
    Passage Theatre
    ,
    2020
  • Reading
    ,
    Prairie Players Civic Theatre
    ,
    2018
  • Reading
    ,
    Second Generation Theatre
    ,
    2014

Production History

  • Workshop
    ,
    Phoenix Theatre--Hormel Festival of New Works
    ,
    2015

Awards

Finalist
,
Third place, Robert J. Pickering Award for Playwriting Excellence
,
Branch County Community Theatre
,
2018
Selection
,
Hormel Festival of New Works
,
Phoenix Theatre
,
2015