←Recommendations of Day of Saturn

A superb play that explores Black gay male identity, Black masculinity, family, forgiveness, and much more with a deft and nuanced hand. The characters' distinct voices come off the page and Icarus' lyrical yet naturalistic monologues/journey punctuate and illuminate the evolving and cautious relationship of Odysseus and Achilles well. I loved that queerness was explored as something that didn't always result in the dissolution of family and parent abandonment, but whose impact on one's life is complex and thorny and inescapable. The theatricality of the piece is glorious as well--I'd love to see the visually rich world onstage.

A rich and powerful way to tell this story, incredibly raw and beautifully told. The struggles of a father and a son with the emotions packed in boiling to the surface with such resonance. Well done!

We are pleased to support this play! It was a Finalist for the 2019 New Works Festival at Kitchen Dog Theater in Dallas, Texas.

It is the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's pleasure to recommend Leviticus Jelks III and their play Day of Saturn as a finalist for our 2018 National Playwrights Conference. The play rose through a competitive, anonymous, multileveled selection process that took nearly nine months to execute. As one of 53 finalists out of more than 1,420 submissions, the strength of its writing has allowed this work to prosper in such a competitive selection process.

To say Leviticus Jelks has a way with words would be an understatement, but setting the stunning language aside, this play has so much heart. Jelks candidly explores a father's feelings of guilt and regret, as well as a son's burning desire to be a good son while also being himself with so much love for both of the characters.