Recommended by Jacquelyn Floyd-Priskorn

This reminds me a bit of the epic dialect poem by Amy Lowell "A Dracula of the Hills." It has an Appalachian folklore horror feel to it. A random hairy toe and a misbehaving teen come together during the holidays for a dark tale. The story feels like it has been passed for generations. I am curious to learn more about Grandma Minnie and her double life! I bet there are more lessons to be learned.

The nerves that Smith has during this dinner are intriguing and engaging. Jones delight in the meal, despite Smith's nerves are also engaging and you wonder what is awaiting them after dinner. And why is there no dessert?! This would be a great scene study for two actors looking to work together on a project!

This play started out sweet and relatable and ended magical and inspirational! What a wonderful twist of an ending. A beautiful story of loving those who have free will and are unpredictable!

"I remember from last time." That broke me! Absolutely fun character to play. "Merry f-ing Christmas" indeed!

Damn, this feels all too real! "Mention the playwrights?" Yup. If it weren't so hilarious, we'd all be crying! At least some of them recouped their $20 submission fee!

The last line is horrifically poetic in this monologue. An analytical look at horrors and monsters we hope to never encounter, but poor Burton must study. Very descriptively, Burton paints pictures we as the audience process and squirm to think about as we watch the mental burdens of this profession break this poor scholar.

The tension in this play is frantic and yet adorable! The way Coco calmly guides Serafina through her body anxiety almost reaches through to the audience as well. We've all had an important "first date/meeting" and this is all very relatable. The swear jar moments are hilarious!

As an audience member, you try to find the characters you connect with and root for. Do we feel sorry for the harried mother just trying to do something for herself? Do we hate the ambitious baker who has won multiple bake offs? Or is the real villain the competition itself? The whimsy of this play has nefarious undertones as the competitors try to please Druisilla. The tension and the banter between these characters is delicious! Also, the best carrot cake is an invisible carrot cake!

This would be so fun to execute live on stage! Of course, the meat of the story is "how important are traditions?" Is it worth it to keep up a yearly holiday tradition if it only brings you stress? Does the warmth of nostalgia and not disappointing others (even broken, sentient ornaments) outweigh the misery you go through to get there? These questions can't be answered sweepingly, but in production, it's a hilarious way to posit them!

The visuals for this play are amazing and I can imagine so many creative ways to execute them. The toad has some hilarious deadpan lines. This is the alternative holiday programming your theater has been looking for!