←Recommendations of Age of Chimes

Gartner's "Age of Chimes" finds beauty in the simplest of places. True companionship, the soul enriching kind, has the duality of envigorating you, and yet deapening as it progresses. This wonderful parable... I almost said fairy tale... exemplifies it perfectly. Well crafted and well done.

“Age of Chimes” is a brilliant metaphor for time. It’s reminiscent of John Donne’s and Ernest Hemingway's same-titled “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” and now Elana Gartner’s “Age of Chimes,” all illustrating how time keeps us connected. In this case, in memory of becoming from someone who has lived it. The imagery is remarkable and chimes have a role in these two characters’ lives that will deepen as the chimes toll. Elana Gartner wrote an immensely stimulating and lovely story.

I take many things from Age of Chimes. Among them is the notion that time passes quickly and we can't go back. Two, that while we start out wanting one thing from a relationship, that want can change into looking for something we need. Age of Chimes features great dialog as well as a satisfying, if melancholy ending. But you'll recognize it, because we've all been there. One of the best lines: "Says the man in the kimono."

10-24-2025: I saw an excellent staged reading of this brilliant play at the MDC 2025. A simple beginning about the third date between two characters dissolves into a profoundly nuanced tale in which time bends, characters grow older or younger, and their relationship changes. However, despite the disparity in their ages at different points in the play, the underlying love evolves and assumes an almost surreal quality —a brilliant premise enhanced by excellent dialogue and imagery. Bravo!

The title of this play is so apt. Two characters of the same age change each time we hear a chime. Some beautiful dialogue about their lives and their hopes. I listened to a reading at the Midwest Dramatists convention, and now, reading it again, I appreciate the time changes and the characters even more.

Loved the reading of this inventive, imaginative play at the 2025 Midwest Dramatists Conference. What seems like just a play about a third date between two men rapidly becomes an almost surreal experience as Gartner literally breaks time, advancing it forward for one character, reversing it for the other. And their relationship? Well, that's the thing: Love can be pulled in any direction, it seems, but it looks a little different at each location. Wrapping your mind around this is half the fun; the other half is watching the characters's emotions evolve--or devolve, maybe! So easy to stage and great roles!

10.21.25 - As I read this piece by Elana Gartner, I was struck by how the "age drifting" both widened the gap between the two characters, yet seemed to strengthen the bonds holding them together. This was fascinating to read and I would bet this would play beautifully onstage (and I really want to see how a production would realize the drifting as the play progressed. An unusual challenge that could reap some unexpected benefits.) Here's hoping someone produces this.

This is such a elegant theatrical piece with some wonderful weirdness to help teach the human condition in 10 minutes. As the characters drift from each other in age there is a deep sense of love and kindness that I will not forget.

If the old saying "age is just a number" is really true, then this play would show us that those numbers represent something more than ticks of the clock or the pages of a calendar. Elana Gartner shows us two people in the various stages of their relationship by changing the framework, but does their connection really alter with time passages one way or the other? A lot to think about, and a wonderful offering for actors and their abilities to seamlessly adapt.

People forget that "middle aged" means 40. (Really, late 30s. Sorry!) Gartner starts this elegant examination of gay male dynamics square in the middle, before sending these two men off in divergent directions. The miracle here is that the characters are always themselves as time and age (forward and reverse) change the prism of their relationship from sexual, to lived-in, to beautifully platonic – a seamless parade of "what if we met then?" Each scenario, a reservoir of truth and affection.