let nothing you dismay
a holiday comedy in two acts
4 f/4 m
It's Christmas, and Kevin and Allie are about to become parents- they're just waiting for a phone call. And though they've asked their families to keep their distance until they bring the baby home, of course no one keeps their distance. Kevin's father visits with his much-younger wife and their extended clan, followed by Kevin's mother with her veterinarian, her upstairs neighbor, and her favorite author, and then Allie's family invades, including her ultra-competitive sister, her Bubbie, and Bubbie's gentleman friend. Eight actors play twenty-two characters in this lightning-paced holiday farce that celebrates families of all kinds.
"Laugh-out-loud funny, and a touching reminder of how much more alike we are than we realize." - Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"It's a perfect arrangement for Payne, whose light touch in the script makes the complicated maneuverings impressively smooth. The tinsel sparkles on cue, and the quips are fast, funny, and smart." - ArtsATL
"Payne dazzles once again; there are touches of Noel Coward and Mel Brooks and any number of comic wizards that you could name. But mainly it's Topher Payne." - Atlanta Intown
"In this day and age when a nuclear family is a relic of the past, and many times our family is made up of those we have chosen, this show is a Christmas story for everyone." - Anchorage Press
"The perfect gift this holiday season." - The Examiner
2016 Suzi Bass Awards
Winner, Outstanding World Premiere
Winner, Outstanding Ensemble Cast
Nominee, Gene-Gabriel Moore Playwriting Award
Nominee, Outstanding Costume Design, Jim Alford
Nominee, Outstanding Sound Design, Rial Ellsworth
Stage Door Players
Dunwoody, Georgia
World Premiere, 2015
2016
Centre Stage
Greenville, South Carolina
2016
Anchorage Community Theatre
Anchorage, Alaska
2017
Farmington Players
Farmington Hills, Michigan
2018
Corbin Theatre
Liberty, Missouri
2019
The Laboratory Theater of Florida
Fort Myers, Florida
2019