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Recommendations

Recommendations

  • Nick Malakhow:
    9 Sep. 2019
    An extremely important and underrepresented example of pursuing "the American Dream." This play uses fierce humor and wrenching tragedy to illuminate the opportunities its central characters most desperately crave and deserve but are prevented from achieving at every turn. From ball culture to cockfighting to wild animals run loose, full throated and passionate theatricality is on display here. I would love to see how this lives off the page. I appreciate its transcendent and forward-looking ending.
  • Benjamin Behrend:
    10 Apr. 2019
    Passionate, funny, and bursting with life. This play is energizing in all the right ways. Highly recommend.
  • Aeneas Sagar Hemphill:
    10 Mar. 2019
    Bruise & Thorn crackles with humor, passion, and confidence. J. Julian Christopher's command of language is so clear in it: the play sings, has rhythm, and puts you directly into the play's world. It's also rich and thoughtful in its politics. Never didactic, never judgmental or heavy-handed, always wildly fun.
  • Caridad Svich:
    8 Nov. 2018
    BRUISE & THORN is a joyous, rollicking ride of a play. Written with fierce love and humor and wit and passion. It dreams big dreams for its fam of characters and gives them permission to be real. Such humanity and wry sweetness in this big-hearted, very funny, queer as fuq play.
  • Shaun Leisher:
    28 Apr. 2018
    J. Julian Christopher's play expertly uses pure theatrical magic to tell a compelling story about a pair of cousins discovering their identities and struggling with everyday life. I can't wait to see the reading of this ast this year's PlayPenn conference.
  • Unicorn Theatre:
    6 Apr. 2018
    This play was a SEMIFINALIST for the 2017-2018 In-Progress New Play Reading Series at Unicorn Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. It is our pleasure to support BRUISE & THORN.
  • Heather Helinsky:
    2 Apr. 2018
    An important story that needs to be told, as these marginalized characters try to pursue the American Dream. I highly enjoyed when this play bursts through theatrical conventions and we see Vogue battles and dancers that "slay". I can't wait to go see this play and cheer it on.
  • Premiere Stages at Kean University:
    1 Mar. 2018
    Premiere Stages, the professional Equity theatre in residence at Kean University, is pleased to recognize “Bruise & Thorn” by J. Julian Christopher as a semifinalist for the 2018 Premiere Play Festival. “Bruise & Thorn” rose through a competitive selection process conducted by Premiere staff and a panel of outside theatre professionals to become one of 22 semifinalists out of 572 submissions. The panel was particularly impressed by its crackling, vibrant dialogue, its compelling characters, and the exuberant, wonderful theatrical magic it showcases, all while tackling an important story about queerness and poverty. Our congratulations and thanks to Julian.
  • Francesca Pazniokas:
    8 Nov. 2017
    This play is a defiant celebration of queerness that is both hilarious and heart-wrenching by turns. It was a joy to watch it in development, and I can't wait to see it fully produced.