The first thing that struck me about Aunt Nellie’s Two Cents Worth is how effectively Baker uses an eye dialect to enhance the naturalistic dialogue and capture the language of 1950 Indiana. More than the language, Baker captures the values and mindset of the times and the region. It’s worth considering how times change, but people not so much. Really well done.

We had the great privilege of reading this piece as part of our Sunday night playreading and in it, Don offers a fabulous powerhouse of a character in Aunt Nellie as she puts Flo to rights about the decisions in relation to her son's career and relationship. It's a fascinating and emotionally tense family drama but you'll find yourself wishing you yourself had an Aunt Nellie.

Not having a tight-knit extended family nor one steeped in religion, I'm often taken aback by how much power elder generations wield. Or think they wield.

Here, Flo's family is jeopardized by an age-old predicament: a son moving on from the life he was supposed to build on and pass down. Even worse, he's been ensnared by a woman of another faith. Baker steeps familiar tropes in a deeply personal reality, where family history is both weapon and salve. Flo and Aunt Nellie remind us people who live and think like this still exist and are capable of adapting.