←Recommendations of The Hot Tub Play

Leave it to Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend to come up with a quirky, quip-driven romantic-espionage-comedy all set in a hot tub! It's delightfully modern and yet grounded in old screw-ball comedies of the past. The set and sound designers (what does "a cry of an attractive man" sound like?!🤣) will have a ball!

Into the canon of comedies like Bringing Up Baby and Ball of Fire, wherein chaotic women charmingly collide with fusty, uptight men, you may now add Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend's delightfully bonkers The Hot Tub Play. What those other stories do with madcap farce, Feriend distills down into a deeply uncomfortable, tightly focused, and wildly funny two-hander played in real time, soaking wet. I promise you'll stay happily entertained well after everyone's fingers have gone prune-y.

Really admired Feriend's ability to take this concept (two people meeting for the first time in a hot tub) and stretch it out into a well-paced and very funny full length that keeps you engaged the whole time. Many laughs were had by me as I had the privilege of attending a recent reading of it, and this would definitely be a crowd pleaser for any theater that chooses to stage it. It's not too hot in this hot tub but instead a quirky, unconventional non-rom-com that is the real deal. Brilliant!

Delicious, delightful, a hilarious, easy-breezy two-hander that serves up tons of laughs buried inside the weirdest meet-strange (it ain't a meet-cute, that's for sure) I think I've ever read. And for the record: I never trusted Chester(field). Hooray for Feriend and the hot tub.

It takes an incredible amount of skill to maintain dramatic momentum through character alone, but Lisa does it effortlessly, with only a few dropped phones and cardinal attacks to keep things dynamic! These two characters are ridiculous and recognizable. You'll love them and hate to relate to them. Most importantly, however, this unusual meet-cute will keep you cackling from curtain up until the tender conclusion, with callbacks galore that reward anyone paying attention! A fantastic comedy!

This is such a fun, real time comedy with a most unusual set...a hot tub! But you knew that from the title. What you don't know until you read are how fun the characters (both on stage and off) are! And as absolutely high level insane Laura comes off, she is likeable and relatable. An iconic role for a woman of a certain age. 44. They specifically say 44. But still! This is the weird meet cute for the over 40 crowd we've all been waiting for!

In the hallowed screwball comedy tradition, two people -- one vibrant and slightly nutty, and one reserved and caught off balance -- reconnect in a hot tub and hilarity ensues. The Playwrights Thriving Reader Series presented a hilarious rendition that ably gave us all the twists and turns worthy of the great comedies, including off-stage characters and a vengeful cardinal (the bird, not the cleric) and of course a snappy and fun-soaked finish. Bring a bag of rice and a towel.