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ON THE ROOF by Donna Hoke

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Recommendations

  • Ben Moran:
    7 May. 2021
    “ I love this play. The first time I read it I laughed, cried, got goosebumps and chills and I felt seen and heard, in a really wonderful way. It's a beautiful and uplifting story, a drama that makes you feel fondness for our predecessors and hope for our future. This is the kind of play that should be produced more often in the mainstream, outside of LGBTQ theaters/venues/festivals. It's a treasure of a piece of theater that effortlessly bridges the gap between willful ignorance and unconditional compassion that so many of the oppressed long for in our societies. ”
  • Scott Sickles:
    4 May. 2020
    “ History often goes unappreciated, no more than in the LGBTQ subculture. It often seems queer people under a certain age have no understanding or appreciation of what it took to get here. That’s why plays like TORCH SONG, BOYS IN THE BAND, and ON THE ROOF are so damn important right now. Hoke creates a vivid portrayal of what gay men in particular (but not exclusively) went through not too long ago. Deeply personal, beautifully individuated, and astonishingly atmospheric, it’s a portal to an oppressive past by which we can evaluate the present and prepare the future. ”
  • Chelsea Frandsen:
    24 Feb. 2020
    “ Donna Hoke has written an amazing and truly authentic piece about a part of our culture and history that tends to get glossed over. The characters are poignant and powerful and some of the dialogue just sizzles. I'd love to see this on it's feet. ”
  • Lee R. Lawing:
    8 Jun. 2019
    “ This play had me from the very start and I could not stop reading it at all. I wish I could see the reading in at the end of the month and encourage anyone that is there to go see it. Sometimes you take a journey with a work of literature that is beyond words to say what it meant to you and that is what reading this play did for me--took me on a masterful journey that reminded me of the sacrifice of those who came before me and to appreciate them and always fight to honor them. ”
  • Porter Jamison:
    26 Feb. 2019
    “ One of the more authentic and up-close looks at post-WW2/Korea pre-Stonewall eras of LGBT history, bringing it to vibrant life while maintaining real-life nuance. Characters are vivid and playable, and their intersection with their changing culture(s) is always in sharp focus. High recommendation for reading, staged readings, and especially production. ”
  • Philip Middleton Williams:
    26 Feb. 2019
    “ Donna Hoke has an uncanny and very powerful way of conveying history and characters in a seamless way that brings you right into the story with them. This play stayed with me after my first and second reading to the point that I felt that not only did I know the people whose lives we see, but I missed them when it was over. I'm old enough to remember life pre-Stonewall, and this play brings it out for those who came after to understand what life was really like. ”
  • Louise Wigglesworth:
    29 Oct. 2015
    “ ON THE ROOF stuns me. It’s an eye opening story about the history of LGBT people in an earlier time in this, our America, (home of the brave, land of the free,) told by characters I can care deeply about. It’s an important story that needs to get out there everywhere so that these youngsters coming up know what others have already come through to get here, and that they can hope for ever better ”
  • William R. Duell:
    6 Aug. 2015
    “ Enthralling and poignant, "On the Roof" is the rare, memorable play that breaks your heart but leaves you hopeful - that better things will come to its beautifully wrought characters, that we are making progress, and that more of us will learn about and appreciate the sacrifices our predecessors made for us. Read this play. I'll make sure to be at its first production. ”
  • Stephen Kaplan:
    1 Aug. 2015
    “ I've always been interested in gay life in this part of the century and Donna's given us an ensemble of engaging and relatable characters that provide an insight into what it was like to live at this time. ”
  • Nancy Gall-Clayton:
    8 Jul. 2015
    “ "On the Roof" has complex, distinct characters audiences will care about; true-to-life dialogue that engages thoroughly; and a structure that enhances the story which flips from today to 1955 and back again. It's a haunting tale, one I will continue to think about. ”

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