Posted: 6/2/19 at 10:45am
Surprised I couldn't find a past thread for this show. I didn't have the chance to catch this in 2016 so I was glad it returned. I should be careful what I wish for. This vulgar, superficial 75-minute slog was infuriating and maddening, but not in the way the creators intended, I'm sure.
How this ended up on so many "best" lists boggles the mind, except that the unchallenged, theatrical echo-chamber, presents another play about race, to predominately White audiences (and critics) who trot off to their lovely homes, trendy restaurants and bars, safe in the knowledge that, by watching a play, they've done something meaningful for race relations in America. They're "thoughtful." They "care."
Volitional close-mindedness prevents them from recognizing that they're perpetuating what they claim to want to "fix."
This show is so intent on being edgy, over-the-top & shocking, that it descends into a narcissistic journey of self-congratulatory posturing, with the creators/actors feeling they've done something meaningful that allows the audience to "care." They've accomplished exactly what they set out to criticize.
The whole exercise, based on the real experiences of teaching 5th graders about the Underground Railroad, is fake, condescending and superficial, even when looked at from the POV of a 5th grader. The idea of how we sugarcoat the teaching of unpleasant history is an interesting conceit and one that demands a more thoughtful presentation.
One early exchange that rang true, made me think I was in for something truly meaningful and thoughtful. "What are we doing?"
"We're moving history forward. We're making progress."
"Those are not the same thing."
That's an interesting exchange that made me think something more deeply profound was forthcoming. It was not. I realize this was supposed to be a class of 5th graders, but the audience is not a class of 5th graders. How they would remedy the condescension, I'm not sure.
The nudity and sex are often gratuitous, despite knowing what they were going for. Some is played for sketch-comedy laughs despite not being funny. Humiliation is not funny, although the audience seemed to think it was uproarious. Maybe my personal history prevents me from seeing the humiliation of others as ever being funny.
The audience laughed a bit too much and a bit too loudly at this show. It's really not funny, at least not in an expected way. My companion was as bothered as I was at the amount of laughter, as though this was UCB sketch and not a play trying to address a serious issue.
The actors are game and with better material could be quite effective.
This is my most hated show of the year and of recent memory, which is doubly disappointing because i was so looking froward to it.
