←Recommendations of I Don't DO Holidays

If you’ve worked in retail stores or restaurants or for the airlines, you may feel as Veruth does about holidays. I DON’T DO HOLIDAYS drew mischievous chuckles the whole way, perfect for holiday un-cheer. The satirical parallels ring many bells of truth. And I love the tension between the faux formal speaking of Piotr and Veruth (“Say it not.”) with a future-feeling timeline - as if the U.S. has been conquered by neo-Vikings from space. Daniel Prillaman is as entertaining and thoughtful a playwright as you'll ever find - but you may need Piotr and Veruth's therapist.

What would a Prillaman holiday romantic comedy be? This is it, and as always, he delivers. For those with "a case of questioning tradition mixed with seasonal depression," this script is SOLID. Lots of funnies and lots of blood.

When I started to get the angle of this play's premise, I couldn't help but laugh out loud at its brilliance. With "I Don't DO Holidays," Daniel Prillaman skewers the compulsory festivity of holiday seasons everywhere, and raises a mirror up to the audience in a compelling, darkly hilarious way. Whether you're a Veruth or a Piotr, there's plenty to love in this bloody good time of a play.

Classic Prillaman. Anyone who reads this play will never look at holidays in quite the same way again, and I am here for it. Everything. The accents, the send up of MIDSOMMAR, and the final icing on my Christmas Cake—the ritual sacrifice of — nope, no spoilers. You're just going to have to read it yourself.

Upon seeing "Warning: violence" at the beginning of a Daniel Prillaman play, I clapped my hands. This is consistently a playwright who holds nothing back, and this holiday humor-fest is no exception! It is somehow absurd and familiar—you know these characters, though their syntax is delightfully alien. Just when you think you've reached the twist, there's another one (Ah, the promised violence!) - Ebeneezer Scrooge has NOTHING on Veruth! A not-so-festive referential romp that will leave you cackling!

This play. So many little treasures of lines that are SO funny as poor Veruth tries to explain her (very valid!) reasons for not liking the Midsummer Solstice Harvest. Or any holiday, really. If I were watching a collection of shorts - holiday themed or otherwise - I would be utterly charmed and delighted when this one began. What a unique and wonderful take on the holiday play.

If this doesn’t tickle your funny bone, there’s probably something depressingly right about you. Also, we can’t be friends. Ari Aster’s Midsommar is suggested viewing before diving into this one, but by no means is it necessary. It’s twisted and brilliant and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Strongly recommended!

Daniel Prillaman deserves his own following. Like some Midsummer Festival cult who sacrifice Americans, he should have followers who would go to every play festival featuring one of his plays (Like Dead Heads minus the discarded Ben and Jerry containers left over after the event. But I digress) Dan's play is hysterical and he hits the tone perfectly. My favorite line though has to be "Rapist Pillager Discovers Land Already Discovered Day?" Brilliant! The Santa takedown was hilarious in its own dark fashion as well. This is truly funny stuff.

Holiday joy can be difficult to find for many people, even for a holiday as cheerful as the Community Sacrifice of Midsummer Solstice Harvest. Daniel Prillaman provides lots of laughs and surprises in this dark, funny tale. I really want to know the rest of the lyrics to the festive holiday song. This one belongs in every holiday themed festival, no matter the holiday.

It's hard to stand up to societal pressure when you hate the holidays. All of them. But what a relief to get the truth out as Veruth does in this hysterically funny look at rejecting holiday "cheer." Even the dark ending evokes laughter. The dialogue is artfully constructed and the theme more universal than many would admit.