←Recommendations of If Only in My Dreams (Ten Minute)

Paul Donnelly reminds us that families aren’t perfect. Holidays aren’t perfect, Hard things happen that feel more devastating near the holidays. Well done.

PAUL DONNELLY’s play is a strong emotional look at the guilt of a mother, who has much regret about how her daughter’s life played out. What could the mother have done differently? “If Only In My Dreams” offers hope things will become better, if only - The ending will tell you what it is.

Demons that haunt us and regret seem to get worse around the holidays, a time when we'd like that glorious happy picture. We try to do what we can for those we love who are in pain even when it's difficult . Well done.

Life is hardest when our demons are family. Guilt, regret, lasting memories of things one wishes they've somehow done better, but probably couldn't have. Donnelly has crafted a hard episode, but a strong one with wonderful major parts for two women. Part of me wanted more, much more of their story, but on reflection, this was more than plenty. It may not be the most uplifting of shorts, but it deserves a place at seasonal festivals.

Everything spills out here, despite, or maybe because of the holidays, and Donnelly artfully asks us to bear witness to tremendous layers of familial pain and dysfunction. These characters are so tightly constructed, that in just a few pages, we see them fully, we'll see people we know tucked within their flaws and fissures. Where the majority of ten-page plays point to a moment in time, isolated from the others, this one not only scratches below that surface, it finds a multi-generational taproot of fear, retribution and even hope. This would be so dynamic on its feet. Bravo!

A real gut punch of a play that would be wonderful to see performed. I would truly love to see the audience discover the play as it unfolds. It stings, there's a real bite to this play--but it's beautiful in a sad way. There's only so much you can do for a toxic person, even when that person is family, and sometimes, the only thing you can do is move on from that person who tried to hurt you. It's not easy, but it is important--and Donnelly gives us three wonderful characters and a great story to understand that.

There is a gentle reminder here that Christmas doesn’t need to be idealized. In any holiday that is fraught with emotion, small loves remain. Small loves stand out. And you can still acknowledge pain side-by-side with the love. A gentle, family depiction that works for a short play festival any month of the year.

Donnelly takes a good, hard look at the dark side of family life and offers a respite from all the tales of loving families coming together for the holidays. What do you do when reality doesn't quite live up to the Norman Rockwell picture? In Lillian, the mother, we have a portrait of determined strength and, yes, bravery, in the midst of heartache. In Audrey, the daughter, we have anger and fire. And in Dusty, Lillian's grandson and Audrey's son, we have a little bit of hope that everything could still end up OK. Never depressing; comforting in its realness.