←Recommendations of LA 8 AM (a ten minute play)

In "L.A. 8 AM," Mark Harvey Levine lets the tragedy unfold in such a quietly devastating way that it leaves you thinking about the time we all have left. I loved the use of the two narrators, whose matter-of-fact delivery underscores the weighty theme of the piece. I would love to see this on a stage.

I had the pleasure of reading this play, then seeing it in production with The Tank (NYC) as part of the "Weird Plays" project and there is so much that I like about it. Like all of Levine's work, it offers surprises - fresh moments you didn't see coming. This play does that, and one of these surprises also offers a really satisfying gut punch, delivered less by words and more by numbers and Froot Loops. This is a really excellent, very full, short play.

It's rare that a 10-minute play will fundamentally shift the way that you view the world and the relationship you have with linear time, but this brilliant piece does just that. You'll never look at a bowl of cereal quite the same way. I'm grateful to have experienced this play.

Levine’s 10 minute plays are always terrific, but this one is brilliant in both its simplicity and its style. It’s almost as if you’re watching a nature documentary on the BBC, but about humans, rather than wild animals. Witnessing a seemingly quotidian morning, we see how the casual banality of existence blinds us to what’s really important. A contrast between data and heart, LA 8 AM will make you reconsider your morning routine, your priorities, and your relationships. It’s a stunning little piece. I’d love to see it on stage!

I finished this play and thought “wow.” A stunningly wonderful and sad piece that will stay with you long after reading. A real emotional gut punch. I love this piece.

This is a perfect short play.

Deeply-felt, linguistically rich, populated with multifaceted characters, this play drives at the heart of being human, finding it... in a bowl of Fruit Loops (TM). A brilliant ode to love, loss, and the things that make us.

WOW! I started reading this play immediately thinking it was going to be a clever little comedy. And then it takes a sharp turn. And I did not see that coming! So ... WOW! What I most admire about Levine's writing in this piece is the succinctness of the dialogue. Nothing is wasted. Every line matters. And the fluidity in which it flows is almost poetic in nature. And then it packs a wallop! I can't imagine any audience walking away from seeing this play and not uttering the word, "WOW!" Excellent writing!

A world hilariously reduced to calculations and numbers even when our action is simply to eat a bowl of breakfast cereal. Fantastic!

Wow, what a perfectly compact play. Its lean, beautiful language belies how profound it proves to be. It's funny, it's stark, it socks you in the gut. A lesson on how great a 10 minute play can be.