←Recommendations of Status Update

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.

Another perfect ten-minute from Gatton. Reminds us that drama at this length isn't some diversion or slight entertainment. It's serious art that mirrors our own private tensions and concerns.

The sheer scope of life represented in this play is a miracle in and of itself. In one conversation between mother and son, Vince Gatton plumbs decades of culture and progress, while examining the fragility of life and death from multigenerational perspectives. He anchors all of this with great simplicity, while managing to find humor in the most tragic and topical circumstances, and pathos in the tiniest and even silliest of moments. If they gave Pulitzers for short works of drama, it would be for plays like this.