←Recommendations of #CaseyandTommyGetHitched

(From my bookclub) Read this play if:
- You're queer with religious trauma
-You love a strong friend group exploding
-You want a better version of a Friends episode
-You love a ruined wedding trope
-You're sentimental

This is a beautiful and wonderfully funny show. Molly Wagner has a gift for ensemble work and natural dialogue. Each character is authentic and complex, discussing real issues while still making the audience laugh out loud. #CaseyandTommyGetHitched is on my list of new favorite plays.

Right off the bat, this play sparkles with great dialogue and relatable characters. Not only does this feature relatable, realistic female and LGBTQIA characters, but it makes heavy issues feel light yet still complex. #CaseyandTommyGetHitched and is always funny, frequently touching, and never didactic and aces the difficult task of making characters actually talk like friends. ("Blabberfat Waddleworts" is one of the funniest lines I've read in a play in a long time.)

The Greatest Generation, Boomers, Gen X, Millenials, whatever the hell you want to call them... when we're in our twenties, at the crossroads after college but before life really starts throwing the curveballs, we all have/had the same concerns and fears. The genius of this script is that Wagner realizes this, and has written a play that crosses all generational lines because the characters, and their concerns, are so universal. We're not so very different, after all. Beautifully done. And funny as hell, too!

This is a fast-paced, breezy play that hits on a lot of truths. Friendship is explored on many levels: years together, shared experiences, sex, and common dreams. With a keen ear for 20-something dialogue, and an appreciation for the lives of these young people that have changed (and will continue to change), Wagner has devised a delightful ensemble piece. The questions posed in the play do not have easy answers. And Wagner doesn’t supply any. She does supply the humanity. Which is often the answer.

As an audience member of a certain age, who doesn't understand the current usage of #, I can safely say that "#CaseyandTommyGetHitched" is so funny, so human, so smart and so emotionally honest that your level of knowledge of technology or millennial-speak is beside the point. It gives you a window into the concerns and quirks of five twenty-somethings, who are all distinct and relatable. This play is a non-stop good time, while also making you feel.

When I saw this staged reading at the Clay & Water 2020 Playwrights' Retreat, I wouldn't have thought a play about Millennials would resonate so soundly with such a broad age group. But there they were, Millennials and Boomers laughing side-by-side. Zingy one-liners, inter-generational appeal, and a fun ensemble of characters make this play a delightful romp. Great choice for a college or community theatre production.

This play is a charming love letter to the awkwardness of your mid-twenties. Its clever use of ensemble tells a sweet and nuanced tale about sexuality, love, friendship, religion, and the messy intersections therein. This delightful play takes many unexpected turns showcasing the realities, both harsh and lovely, of life after undergrad. Highly recommend to theatres looking for plays that tackle religion and sexuality in a fresh and unexpected way, plays which tackle life in your mid-twenties, and plays which utilize a strong ensemble cast.

One of the many things that impress me about Wagner’s play is the deft use of an ensemble cast. Although certain central relationships are key to the story, each character is specific and richly detailed and has a clear narrative arc. I would highly recommend this play for companies looking for good roles for a group of young actors. I also want to remark on the humor, which is very specific to the language and culture of millennials at a certain point in their post-college years, but it is also easily accessible.

It's easy for casts exceeding three to have characters that sound the same, but in this dramedy, Molly Wagner has created five clear and distinct voices audiences to take in. Molly achieves spectacular effects turning laughter into drama of the highest stakes in a single line. It's a play that is both an amazing read and even better in production. Reaching beyond its assigned age-group, #CaseyandTommyGetHitched is the kind of play that will get audiences of all backgrounds and ages laughing, reflecting, and perhaps even inspire the empathy needed to bring down the preconceptions that too-often separate us.