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Toxic by Rachel Bublitz

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Recommendations

  • Paul Donnelly:
    13 Aug. 2022
    “ A chilling and utterly compelling portrait of the lies and self-loathing undergirding most toxic masculinity. These two young men are clearly drawn and the shifting dynamic between them is riveting. The final moments are harrowing and depressing and ring regrettably true. This is a powerful and important work. ”
  • Cheryl Bear:
    6 Jul. 2020
    “ A spectacular capture of the toxic masculinity that defines the self esteem of many young men and leads to the squashing of compassion. Well done. ”
  • Nicholas Dunn:
    30 Aug. 2018
    “ Bublitz captures the fragility and combustibility of masculinity that pervades the lives of young men trying to find their worth in the world. The play is a deft balancing act of portraying men who try to adhere to social expectations without defaulting to caricatures. Intense, relevant, and authentic. ”
  • Ben Rosenblatt:
    29 May. 2018
    “ Wow. This devastates you with the truth about young men and masculinity in this country. These are two kids we all know and maybe even have been at a certain point in our lives. It's uncomfortable, tense, fast-paced and brutal in its honesty. The humor is dark and the pathos pitch black. This play is a beautiful mirror for our communities at the exact right time. Produce this. At the very least, read it, now. ”
  • Michael Kras:
    29 May. 2018
    “ This play accomplishes an awful lot in 20 minutes, ratcheting up the intensity in riveting fashion with a timely social commentary that hits uncomfortably close to home. We all know men like this, and through a biting sense of humour and uncomfortable rage, we're forced to reckon with the culture we continue to breed as a society. ”
  • Sharai Bohannon:
    29 May. 2018
    “ This play is a perfect dialogue starter on toxic masculinity and gender roles. Bublitz gives us two dudes that we all think we know (and couldn't think less of) at first glance and then completely throws their power dynamic off balance making us view them differently. Would love to see this produced and published!! ”
  • Ricardo Soltero-Brown:
    15 Feb. 2018
    “ Men were taught, when they were younger, when they were boys, a perverted version of confidence; that it was superior to empathy, the essence of self-worth, tantamount to a healthy self-esteem. Catharsis can be anticipated, even sought, but the actual moment is a surprise, that's what it is, that's the point; and the one that playwright Bublitz sets up for Chris mines us with both pathos and humor, that is to say with a dose of humanity. 'Toxic' is a welcome meditation on the urgency to address misconstructed masculinity, and the necessity of redefining it, and the dangers of not. ”