←Recommendations of Erstwhile

One of my favorite things about Dellagiarino Feriend's writing is when she is savage, and here, she is no-holds-barred savage. When the twist - not that there's a twist comes - she twists it just a little bit further and the result is wickedly delightful while at the same time, rings all too loudly with truth.
A wry societal commentary with enough zing so that the audience barely detects it's being socially commentated to? Dellagiarino Feriend eats that for breakfast every morning.

Buttons and asbestos and blizzards are a heady combination. This goes everywhere and anywhere which is where we need to be right now. Thank you to Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend for making me think all things are possible, that Hallmark could have an edge, and there’s a holiday play waiting for me on the other side. With hot chocolate for those who celebrate.

03/28/2026 - As someone who has seen his fair share of Hallmark Christmas movies this piece had me howling with laughter from beginning to end. From the opening exposition, to the premise, to the dark comedic turns it takes in its closing pages, this play is a winner for Christmas or anytime of the year. Excellent work!

This comedy follows Brenda's return to her hometown. If there were a test for funny bones or your sense of humerus, ERSTWHILE would score 100/100, positive with a touch of the certifiable. Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend has created a response to Hallmark's Christmas movies that brings tears - only due to endless laughter. She has seemingly created this world as effortlessly as it brings your enjoyment. This play will delight any audience while allowing actors the chance to have a great time!

Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend tried to kill me. This play was her weapon of choice. And she almost succeeded. Not since Greg Mandryck's "September in Biddeford" have I laughed this hard, tears streaming down my face from both mirth and asphyxiation while my lungs tried and failed to take in necessary live-giving air. A glorious send-up of Hallmark Christmas movies, Feriend's signature pitch-dark-yet-somehow-lighter-than-air humor forges a perfectly perverse and sharply satirical holiday exchange. While trying to kill me.

Erstwhile is a wickedly funny two-hander that traps two former hometown companions in a snowbound cabin, and in the unresolved tensions of the lives they chose. As nostalgia, ideology, and romantic possibility collide, the play spirals into sharp, unexpected comedy. With fast-paced dialogue and escalating absurdity, it showcases Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend’s consistently brilliant comic voice.

Ha! Hilarious from page one! I was clocking that red hat from the first stage direction! And if Hallmark Christmas movies were more like this, I might actually watch them on purpose! This short is the quintessential Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend comedy - an incredible premise, a dose of nostalgia, a plot you'd never see coming, and laugh-out-loud dialogue that's as irreverent as it is smart! Truly, the comedy here makes an actor's job so easy - and will delight audiences at Christmas... or any time!

Dazzlingly funny. I cackled with laughter during a virtual reading of this spoof of Hallmark Christmas movies that went darker than what I expected.

This kind of biting satire is very difficult to do. Yet so needed for our troubled time. And I must say that I can't wait to see a live production of this marvelous piece. Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend's "Erstwhile" was a wicked delight. Kudos!!!

Now this is a Hallmark holiday story I can sink my teeth into (like a tire, if you will...). ERSTWHILE by Lisa Dellagiarino Feriend is such a smartly stupid - or stupidly smart? - hilarious two-hander with some incredible and unexpected twists and turns.