"...strangely uplifting...one of the better shows you can see while alone in New York around Christmas time...an absolute joy."
—Ethan Stanislawski (BlogCritics Magazine)
Read the whole review here.

"The theme of Plucking Failures Like Ripe Fruit is failure at love, and the plays depict the commonality of human loneliness in a delightfully plucky manner...an enjoyable night of theater."
—Amy Freeman (offoffonline)
Read the whole review here.

"Plucking Failures Like Ripe Fruit; A Night of Romantic Tragedies presented by No Tea Productions is a delightful piece of theater, chock full of comedic tales; complex and not so, that cuts to the core of how people connect, disconnect and sadly never connect."
—Retrovision Media
Read the whole review here.

Horse Trade presents a No Tea Production
Plucking Failures like Ripe Fruit
A Night of Romantic Tragedies

Plucking Failures like Ripe Fruit was a collection of small works by big playwrights, all about failing at love. Before each show, the audience drew our performance order from a collection of more than 10 short plays, so every night was a different mix of failure. The show performed at UNDER St. Marks Theatre from November 20th to December 6th, 2008, 8pm Thursdays through Sundays (except Thanksgiving Day), with a 2pm matinee on Nov 30th.

Director: Lindsey Moore
Assistant Director: Lisa Nussbaum
Stage Manager: D. Robert Wolcheck
Light and Sound Technician: Timothy Mather
Poster Design: Jeff Sproul
Publicity: Emily Owens PR

Featuring: Alicia Barnatchez, Brooke Eddey, Sabrina Farhi, Richard Lovejoy, Jeremy Mather, and Jeff Sproul.

 

1-900-DESPERATE
By Christopher Durang

Gretchen: Brooke Eddey
Sally: Alicia Barnatchez
Zelda: Sabrina Farhi
Little Boy: Richard Lovejoy
Scuzzy: Jeff Sproul
Recorded Voice: D. Robert Wolcheck

Gretchen finds herself without a date on Saturday night again, and decides to give in to the mysterious voice (Oh, it's just the TV! Or is it?), who tells her to call 1-900-DESPERATE, a dating service for swinging singles. On the line she finds a feminist, a slut, a 5-year-old, a sleezeball, and definitely no hope for her dating life.

4 a.m. (Open All Night)
By Bob Krakower

Man: Jeff Sproul
Jim: Richard Lovejoy
Doc: Jeremy Mather
Woman: Sabrina Farhi

In a diner, a waiter and a salty regular customer try to encourage a pair of early-morning diner patrons who are clearly destined to meet and fall in love. (Spoiler: they fail.)

Anything for You
By Cathy Celesia

Lynette: Alicia Barnatchez
Gail: Brooke Eddey

Lynette and Gail are old friends meeting for a nice meal at a fancy restaurant, as they've done countless times. Gail wants to see her friend, chat, and maybe try the squab. Lynette wants to convince Gail to sleep with her.

Breaking Even
By Dan Dietz

Leo: Jeremy Mather
Lola: Brooke Eddey
Larry: Richard Lovejoy

Leo, the Unluckiest Man in the World, has decided to commit suicide, and is just about to hang himself in a Vegas hotel room when in walks Lola, the Luckiest Woman in the World, also planning her own death. (Hey, having everything come easy gets boring!) Will Leo fail at killing himself, thereby making love possible? The fates are confused.

Cold
By David Mamet

A: Richard Lovejoy
B: Jeremy Mather

Two men meet on a subway platform. One is oddly inquisitive. Why? This play has many interpretations, all of them fascinating.

A Day for Surprises
By John Guare

Miss Jepson: Alicia Barnatchez
Mr. Falanzano: Jeremy Mather

Two librarians are shaken out of their daily book-pasting habits by a startling realization: one of the stone lions in front of the New York Public Library has woken up, entered the library, and eaten one of the other librarians. The only comfort to be found is with one another, but can people this awkward and bookish find their way to one another?

Here We Are
By Dorothy Parker

He: Richard Lovejoy
She: Sabrina Farhi

A couple of newlyweds on a train, headed toward their honeymoon, realize that getting married does not solve the problems of constant bickering, jealousy, or total anxiety about the wedding night.

Miss You
By David Auburn

Man: Jeff Sproul
Woman: Sabrina Farhi
Man 2: Jeremy Mather
Woman 2: Alicia Barnatchez

A man calls his wife from the airport—surprise, he's ending his business trip early! But she has someone on the other line, and must make a decision: which one to hang up on?

Please Have a Seat and Someone Will Be with You Shortly
By Garth Wingfield

David: Jeff Sproul
Sue: Brooke Eddey

David and Sue have been coming to the same office for their separate therapy sessions and waiting in the same waiting room for months, but have never spoken. Now that David's Freud-loving therapist is moving away to open a candle store (no, seriously!), he wants to say hello to Sue before they have to say goodbye.

Request Stop
By Harold Pinter

Woman: Alicia Barnatchez
Small Man: D. Robert Wolcheck
Lady: Brooke Eddey
Man: Jeff Sproul
Other bus riders: Sabrina Farhi, Lisa Nussbaum

At a bus stop, a woman may or may not be asking innocent questions.

Sure Thing
By David Ives

Betty: Sabrina Farhi
Bill: Jeff Sproul

A couple tries again and again to get the timing right on their first meeting. How many chances do you get at finding love? This play suggests that they're endless.