Posted: 3/23/17 at 1:57am
If you've been looking for a solid new play, I highly recommend this one. I haven't put all my thoughts together yet but I'm already regretting not seeing it earlier, as I'd planned to, because then I would have had an extra week or so to tell people to go see it.
I can't really explain it right now. It wasn't that big cathartic The Color Purple kind of cry your eyes out show. And it wasn't a big melodrama or acting exercise where you marvel at the performances. And it wasn't one of those super witty or intellectual plays that has you walking out thinking everything over. I'm not selling it well right now, but it was just... good. This is what I hope for when I go out and see a play. Tell a somewhat compelling story and tell it well. I can see all the places you could criticize it. The storyline with one sister and the poet is kind of contrived and artificial. And it could be extended to really flesh out all the characters and reveal all the specifics about their situations and how things will be resolved. But I just didn't care. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed myself this much at a play (vs. a musical) that didn't have showy performances.
I will say the music is pleasant and it serves a purpose but this is a definitely a play with music, not a musical. I mean, I'd really just think of it as a play. I think if you go in expecting too much from the music part, you might be disappointed. I know I'm rambling. This was just such a wonderful, unexpected surprise.
