←Recommendations of The Hall of Final Ruin

"The Hall of Final Ruin" is utterly captivating. McBurnette-Andronicos gifts the theatre a dynamic all-female cast that masterfully blends historical authenticity with suspense and humor. This is a theatrical treat on so many levels. Rich characterizations, symbolism, atmosphere... The audience will be squirming uncomfortably as they are inevitably charmed by our guide to the underworld Doña Sebastiana. "To know what is to come, you must first know what is." I think I'll go pour myself a bebida alcohólica.

I’m late to the party reading this, but Oh. My. God: Better late than never. McBurnette-Andronicos grabs you from the opening monologue, and you willingly let her take you wherever she wants you to go; from high comedy to dark despair and all points in between, her script is a masterclass in story, structure, and characterization, and is whopping good fun to boot. A funny play about death? Absolutely. And oh, how I want to see it staged. So many wonderfully theatrical possibilities.

Irreverent, humane, profound and profane, McBurnette-Andronicos' play takes us on a sweeping journey through the history of the American Southwest, swinging us into an impasse, the introduction of settler-colonial assimilation over a tight-knit community. With rich detail and historical investigation, balanced by humor and theatricality, this piece resonates with the dynamics of community survival across the ages.

This funny historical, fast-witted play celebrates its story and its audience! This all-female comedy about death and legacy is also about how we care for one another. Its compassion has absolutely everything to do with making us laugh. It's exactly the kind of play I want to see produced!

There is nothing left to say that others have not already said besides STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND READ THIS PLAY. After you do that, produce it!

A riveting plot with the stakes of one's final resting place resting on this game, you're hooked as this rich story unfolds! Well done.

Kelly's extraordinary mastery of language has a way of transporting you in such a specific and exact time and place. I also never thought I would be so delighted at having "death" appear on stage, but I absolutely loved Doña Sebastiana. Now I really want to learn how to play Monte. An incredible all-female play about death and legacy.

Beginning with the evocative title, every word, every scene description, every line of dialogue in this piece combine to create a rich, seductively insular time and place inhabited by fascinating characters. As in all of the writer's work, McBurnette-Andronicos's gift with language is on full display here. Words are weighted with mythic significance, oracular in rhythm and intent. Binding it all, a journey towards acceptance of death for a character so lively one can't imagine death ever catching up to her. I don't know how the writer does it, but I know I can't stop reading.

This is the best of McBurnette-Andronicos's plays to date, which says a lot.

Her world building is crafted through personal research and investigation of location, time and mores. All her characters are women with agendas, weaknesses and strengths whose own decisions ultimately help them reach -- or not reach -- their goals.

What sets "The Hall of Final Ruin" apart is Doña Sebastiana -- Death herself -- in the cast. This wall-breaking, all-knowing and all-present character brings humor and theatricality, and opens up the play to themes of legacy, well-led lives and deaths, and redemption.

Highly recommended.

You don't have to be from Santa Fe to appreciate this enchanting play that mixes history, faith, magic, and wit to create a fun and engaging story. The six women that tell the tales are multi-faceted and intriguing, and I could feel the atmosphere of suspense and determination. La Tules is both charming and a wee bit scary, which means she has your attention from the first moment to the very last.