Playhouse West presents Michael Quinn’s Get It Together

Together, everywhere

In under a decade, this play has been performed numerous times. It was chosen to participate in Boston College’s New Voices competition in 2019; staged in a New Jersey backyard in 2020; produced in West Hollywood in 2022; performed at NYC’s Flea Theater in 2024; and received Honorable Mention for the 2025 Philly Fringe Festival. The play’s witty, self-aware dialogue feels reminiscent of Dawson’s Creek for the stage. It makes sense that students of the North Philadelphia branch of the Playhouse West Acting School would stage their own version for Valentine’s Day.

I sat down with the lead performers, Erica Love (Mary) and Peyton Carson (Harold), as well as assistant director Michelle Opalesky, who are all students of the Meisner technique at Playhouse West. Like their characters, both leads have their own meet-cute. They auditioned together for the Philly Fringe performance and served as understudies together. When Quinn suggested they produce the play for Playhouse West, they leapt at the opportunity. Like their characters, they are both young and on the cusp of their careers.

There are mild parallels between the leads and their on-stage counterparts. Like Harold, Carson is gregarious and a little too sure of himself. Like Mary, Love has strong thoughts and is on the cusp of acknowledging her own power. When asked about each other’s characters, Carson “likes how real Mary is” and feels Love is “just so perfect for the role.” On stage, both naturally embody the physicality of their fictional counterparts. As Harold, Carson takes up space and lounges casually while conveying his clear attraction. Both actors admit Harold has ‘f#ckboi’ charm. However, outside of Harold, Love speaks to her co-lead’s energy, stating he has a “kind of glow to him that draws people in and I think it's very similar to the character, I think it's a nice addition.”

Love captures Mary’s initial awkwardness and uncertainty as well as the character’s strength in confronting Harold’s double-handedness. Talking further about her experience playing someone close to her age, Love states: “I relate to Mary a lot. She's still figuring out who she is and so is everyone around that age.” However, assistant director Opalesky points out “whether you're that age or a lot older … you can see yourself. I can remember things from that age and the exploration that you're looking for … And I think everybody's always exploring who they are.”

Giving another look

If you’ve already seen the Fringe festival production, this version will incorporate the Meisner technique’s focus on spontaneity, under the guidance of Playhouse West director Tony Savant. However, both actors point out the earlier versions included performers trained in that methodology. Also, both actors, like the playwright and their characters, have regional ties as greater Pennsylvania residents.

So, why should you see this play, even if you are a semi-retired Gen-Xer who is over post-adolescent dating? As performer Carson smartly points out, “this is a really fun play and it's really beautifully written and it's a crazy world we're living in right now. I think this is a great play that people could just kind of forget about the craziness of the world and just sit in on these two people trying to figure themselves out.”