←Recommendations of Status Update

It is an open secret that Vince Gatton is a timeless being bearings witness to the passing of the ever-moving epochs of civilization.

Here, he's not even trying to hide it.

Past, present, and future all converge and diverge in the wake of a single indelible tragedy. Yet this is no time-travel tale: it's a simple domestic scene between mother and son, replete with cruelty-as-amusement, intergenerational music/fashion/tech/ideology, the parallels of rebellious youth in different eras, and rare affection.

The sociopolitical commentary is intimate as the wounds it recalls, but despite anguish there is beauty and somehow hope.

No one does poignant everyday dialogue like Gatton. What starts out as a typical day with typical bickering becomes a dawning as mother and son, through walking through mom's youth and the awareness of mortality, discover and see one another as human beings, moving beyond their assigned roles. In Gatton's two-handers, there is usually a mover, and there is a port in the storm (Protocols, Cassie Strickland) and the navigation to peace, or at least a mooring, is always a joy to experience. An in-your-bones piece, this.

Lee: vulnerable and painfully honest. Gabe: cocky and insightful beyond his years. The bonding between mother and son is so natural and touching. In ten minutes, Gatton reveals past, present, and perhaps portends the future. Wonderful.

A beautiful, heartrending two-hander, and one of the best pieces I know about middle age - about being old enough to have experienced gut-wrenching loss but still young enough to rock out to Violet Femmes, about trying to impart some sort of knowledge to your children when you're still a confused, scared kid yourself.

A mom and son’s relationship itself undergoes a ‘status update’ threading together a mother’s own punk youth, current stresses and boyish insouciance, then hopes for the future. Gatton expertly marshalls identification and sympathies within a deceptively simple framework where an untimely death turns a seeming generation gap into a life affirming bond.

This is a funny and poignant look at parenthood and mother-son relationships, and all of the annoyances, pain, and importance of little things that goes with it. Vince Gatton remains one of my favorite writers on NPX to watch.

Gatton shows so much in such a short amount of stage time with "Status Update."

This mother/son drama understands no one truly knows what they'll become later in life, that the term "old" is entirely subjective, and that living in the past isn't good but short, intermittent visits can raise one's spirits.

"Status Update" is one of Gatton's anthology plays with ties to a tragic central event, whose effects ripple for years. Wonderful breadth of writing.

A fantastic drama that rings so true, how we cope with our fears and the world we live in. Well done!

All the little things that can make up a relationship, a memory, an annoyance, a life history, an afternoon... dovetail and build beautifully into a perfectly realized gem of a 10-minute play. Lyrically realistic, with liberal doses of humor and sadness, Vince Gatton's "Status Update" is simply beautiful.

ETA (11/11/2020) And now that I've read the entire series of plays that make up the extended world of Gatton's full-length YOU HAVE EARNED BONUS STARS, I want to add there's even more meaning and heartbreak knowing how perfectly it fits into the events depicted in this epic saga.

This play balances its tough themes with a delicate, restrained approach. It's so realistic - Driving us right to a relatable moment, dropping us into a universally frustrating ebb, and then - putting us in free all, as we spin downward into the unexpected. It's funny, heartfelt - And gutting. A perfect ten minute play.