←Recommendations of FUEL

Distilled and electric.

I am always so consistently engrossed in Svich's spare, heightened, and fabulistic theatrical worlds. The characters are at once nuanced and dynamic while also retaining a mythic quality. In FUEL I feel like the world is constantly on the brink of erupting into flames. My director brain begins to flesh out the visual-aural landscape of this play quickly. Svich gives so much to work with on that front while also providing a gloriously multi-faceted script that leaves much room for individual interpretation. I sincerely hope to see a production of this soon!

A play of raw and deep reflection. Caridad's work here is simple but in your face, a snap shot of an America we all are cautious about.

There is beauty in the language Svich employs through the pieces of the AMERICAN PSALM cycle. It is at once primitive and essential, as though trying to find the root dialect of the United States. Time will tell if Caridad Svich will be remembered as a great playwright or a chronicler-prophet who is reporting, in dramatic form, on the decaying pillars upon which America has prospered and now balances precariously, but those are for our succeeding generations to decide. For now, read FUEL. Experience Svich exposing our deepest flaws and, in exposure, discover our deepest wells of love and humanity.

I love the simple poetic nature of Svich's dialogue. These characters don't always say much but their connections with each other and their current situations are so clear. Also that last moment will drive audience to sobs. Though much more expressionistic than other plays about blue collar communities, this piece deserves to be alongside Dominique Morriseau's Skeleton Crew and Lynn Nottage's Sweat as plays that truly speak to the heart of this nation today.