SMALL POTATOES is a deeply human, theatrically intimate family drama set in a cramped East Harlem apartment at the height of the Great Depression. The story centers on Teresa Russo, struggling to hold her multigenerational Italian-American family together as poverty closes in and her mother Valentina slips further into dementia. Into this fragile balance blasts Cosmo — Teresa’s charming, unreliable father — returning after years away with his latest “million-dollar idea”: a portable “radio hat” he insists will transform their fortunes forever.

Cosmo’s boundless optimism electrifies the household, reopening long-sealed wounds while rekindling long-buried dreams. As the promise of prosperity collides with hard truths about loyalty, responsibility, and love, the family must choose between belief in miracles and the quieter heroism of simply staying. Warm, funny, and heartbreaking, Small Potatoes blends nostalgia, sharp humor, and musicality with themes that resonate fiercely today: economic instability, caregiving, ambition, and the cost of hope.

With five richly drawn roles and a single evocative location, the play is ideal for regional theatres, festivals, university and community productions, and companies seeking intimate, character-driven ensemble work with theatrical flair and emotional punch.

Small Potatoes reminds us that dreams can lift us up — but family is what holds us.

This play has not yet been produced.