I love how Bernstein so effortlessly writes about the intersection of politics and culture; of all her work I’ve read so far, THE LEGEND OF TOMMY TREMAIN may be her most cogent. Early on I was drawn in by this line: “You are everyone who lies without recognizing what a lie is and does.” Powerful stuff right from the start, and the play just keeps escalating from there. It’s a thought provoking, angry, necessary work, completely deserving of both the praise and recognition it has garnered thus far, and completely deserving of a wide audience.

Playwrights Foundation enthusiastically recommends this play THE LEGEND OF TOMMY TREMAIN, as a Semi-Finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival 2020. We were moved by the quality of the writing and the relevant and compelling themes that spoke to the mission of our festival. It excelled in a competitive process of 735 plays submitted this year and rose to the top after a six month long process discussing its merits with both national and local Bay Area readers, and we hope it moves swiftly towards production.

Who was Tommy Tremain--and why is he so revered by some, yet so reviled by others? The stunning answer is revealed through memorable characters across multiple centuries in this clever, compelling, and inventive story of an enslaved woman in search of justice.