Seven shows!  Seven playwrights! Seven actors!  "Holiday Bites" is Dreamcatcher Rep's latest production, on Zoom!  But the experience is just like attending a show, but in the comfort of your <InsertChosenLocationHere>.  2020 has brought a lot of New Normal, yet this is one aspect that is a heartfelt joy to experience.
"Holiday Bites" leads off with Mark Harvey Levine's "Oh Tannenbaum," featuring Daria M. Sullivan as Liebovitz and Harry Patrick Christian as Christmas Tree.  It is a razor-sharp social comedy that gives a different perspective.  The actor's expressions are lively and brilliant and we get a close-up look we might not otherwise get.  Levine's rapid-fire dialogue leaves your head spinning and the clever repartee is superb.  Pandora Scooter's "Customer Service" follows, with Jean Goto as the benighted Abi, a customer service rep, who is world weary, yet does her best to be fresh.  Then Jeremy (Darin F. Earl II) happens.  Jeremy is asking the tough questions and manages to flap the otherwise unflappable Abi.  Her perspicacity leads to a conversation that is the tip of the iceberg of the zeitgeist of discontent.  Pursuit of the almighty dollar creates a culture that is dehumanizing, yet there is a spark of love that unites us all, even when we begin as strangers.
"Hanukkah Visit" is Phoebe Farber's vignette of Arlene (Harriett Trangucci), a mother and widow, whose daughter Zoe (Stephanie Windland) is bringing her boyfriend home for Hanukkah.  Arlene is in pre-rejection mode because Advik (Neimah Djourabchi) is a) not Jewish, b) has an unfamiliar name, and c) is a challenge to the carefully cultivated status quo that keeps Arlene's world on its axis.  Advik came for latkes, yet gets a grilling when Arlene puts him under the microscope.  Over the course of an initially uncomfortable dinner, through the course of the courses, the adversarial relationship moves through different duos as do allied relationships.  This artfully crafted play gives fly-on-the-wall reality to the words we have heard, and uttered before. This play is like a symphony, with the melodies in harmony and dissonance, ultimately resolving to a bittersweet minor key.  Speaking of music, Jessica F. Baskerville's "Habari Gani?" begins with Reishi (Daria M. Sullivan) teasing Holland (Darin F. Earl II) about his dulcet baritone rendition of "Let It Snow."  Holland is wearing a crown and, as they reminisce about their aunt's heirloom kinara that seems to be lighting itself--no mean feat since it is not plugged in.  Kwanzaa magic happens in many forms and when a kinara becomes a polygraph, the fun really begins.
Fans of Lia Romeo's "The Lucky Ones" at Dreamcatcher will love her play "A Little Tiny Bit of Fucking Cheer."  The title itself has its own poetry and, as Gracie (Stephanie Windland) and Sara (Jean Goto) catch up on holiday plans, while Sara's hubby Mark (Neimah Djourabchi) rides herd on their toddler, who is bent on single-handed destruction of her mother's favorite holiday decorations.  Gracie's cheer is "Bah Humbug," while Sara is determined to make a holiday.  With the pandemic and the emotional distance of Zoom, their shared loss manifests differently in each of the sisters.  By the time Sara gets to her F word aria, Gracie has had an epiphany of her own.  Bring a hankie.
"This Year It's Just the Two of Us" is Richard Dresser's observant reminiscence of Holidays past.  Anne (Harriett Trangucci) and Byron (Harry Patrick Christian) are having a fascinatingly convoluted conversation about their lives together and how, now, their lives are literally apart.  A non-British "Upstairs Downstairs," with a "Twilight Zone" twist, the memory of this play will linger with you for a long time.  "Many Happy Returns" puts the tasty finish on this Holiday treat.  Steve Harper gives us post-Holiday surprises.  Abbud (Neimah Djourabchi) is the lucky devil who works the return booth during that magic week between Christmas and New Year's.  Margaret (Harriett Trangucci) is part of the family for whom the store where Abbud works is named.  Margaret is returning a gift from her ex and Abbud runs into a bit of trouble and it's Justin (Darin F. Earl II) to the rescue!  What is she returning?  Where did it come from?  How can it be returned? Oooh, and Abbud and Justin have a complicated relationship.  When Erica (Jean Goto), Customer Service Practitioner Extraordinaire, drops a bomb that is charmingly delish! And to all a Happy Holiday and Merry New Year to all!
Breaking the cycle of seven, there are only six performances, each live!  Be sure to get your tickets now for a Holiday experience that is literally (and literarily) like no other!  Visit https://www.dreamcatcherrep.org/holiday-bites to get YOUR tickets.  The performance is 90 minutes and bookmark that site.  Your program is right there on the home page.  Get some lift!  You're not adrift, Dreamcatcher's gift is brilliantly diff(erent)!