About the Play:

Loose Knit is a full-length comedy by Theresa Rebeck. Five friends frequently meet to knit; these knitting parties are, actually, but a mere pretext for talks about the men from their lives or, moreover, about the lack thereof. The humour of these ladies partially conceals a dark picture in which relationships between people develop as difficult as they loosen, like the knitted fabrics which the protagonists of the play create.

Loose Knit is a clever, comic tale of relationships, expectations, disappointments and betrayal, with a bit of mayhem thrown in for good measure. Once a week in the heart of New York City five women gather under the mistaken impression that knitting is a relaxing pastime for stressed out lifestyles. As the sweaters pile up, their lives fall apart. Liz is having an affair with her sister's husband, Gina's lost her job, Paula is having an identity crisis, and Margie just wants a date. Into their lives steps Miles, a cool businessman who made his first million before he was thirty and is now looking for a wife. Following a series of blind dates in a sushi restaurant, Miles and the women begin to confront issues of betrayal, lust, chauvinism and politics. Things begin to unravel quickly and humorously as all the relationships become a tangled mess and each individual confronts his or her own life questions. Rolling with the punches, these characters learn the healing power of humour and forgiveness when all the dirty laundry gets aired. This is a play written to make you laugh, because of (or in spite of!) what life throws at us. As in her previous comedy, Spike Heels, the author outlines the battle between the sexes with wit, ferocity and insight in a contemporary comedy of manners.

Loose Knit premiered in 1993 off-Broadway at Second Stage in New York City. The play has been performed in regional repertory, college, and community theatre productions.

Cast: 5 women, 2 men

What people say:

"A heady blend of Noel Coward and Wendy Wasserstein.... Loose Knit has enough crackle to qualify as one of the smarter comedies of manners to be seen in New York recently. The triumph of Miles is that he is as charming as he is monstrous." — The New York Times

About the Playwright:

Theresa Rebeck is a leading American playwright, screenwriter and author. Her plays include Bad Dates, Omnium Gatherum (co-written, Pulitzer finalist), Spike Heels, and Mauritius, which won Boston's prestigious IRNE and Elliot Norton Awards. Her work in television includes NYPD Blue for which she has won the Peabody, the Writer's Guild, and the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar awards. She holds a Ph.D. from Brandeis University and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.