←Recommendations of I'll Tell You at Sunrise

There's an interesting line about if suicide were a solution, we'd all be dead. That was where this dialogue had me by the throat, or heart. Gonzalez has a fine drama here with two people on opposite ends of a timeless argument and still makes it feel fresh and urgent. He understands the individuality of persons and their problems. Kindness can come from the most unanticipated of places and it can be effective, so, this play is not just about being a part of this world, but what you can do while in it.

In such a short amount of time this play manages to capture my heart, and my attention, leaving the reader with a lot of hope in the end. To quote a friend of mine who I forced to read it: "I never thought a ten minute play would make me cry". All I can say is: read this play.

The details make this beautiful piece sing. Within a deceptively simple premise, Gonzalez layers connections of the heart, the desperation of depression, and a vividly depicted account of the small moments that make life worth living. Gonzalez connects his characters to each other, and to us, through the specificity of what moves us and makes us human. The uncertainty of the ending keeps the audience inspired well beyond the ending, calling on us to seek out those all-important connections in our own lives.

The best 10 minute plays feel like a theatrical bolt of lightning—you get the poetry, heart, and humor of a full-length piece in the time it takes for your food to arrive at a restaurant. I'LL TELL YOU AT SUNRISE has all those qualities, giving us a stellar exploration of life, beauty, and why we keep going inside a short scene between two strangers. I'm especially impressed with how this script transitions from staccato, naturalistic dialog into a truly lovely monologue about staying alive. Highly recommended.

This feels like a longer piece in the best way - it's endlessly readable but also grapples with some pretty heavy philosophical issues head-on, all filtered through the poetry of Gonzalez's writing. Of course, none of this would matter without investment, and that's what struck me most - it's not didactic or overstated, and as an audience member you find yourself trying to connect with and understand both characters. It's a genuinely lovely and engaging piece.

A stunningly beautiful exploration of depression, suicide, and hope, Franky Gonzalez has created a touching, heartfelt play. With two perfectly realized strangers driving the action, he takes his set up and follows it to an amazing, humanizing conclusion. Gonzalez manages to be so specific that this play seems almost universal in its conversation with the human condition. It’s like watching the first rays of sunlight break through the dark night sky. Beautiful.

I saw a staged reading of this at the 2018 Midwest Dramatists Conference, and it blew me away! I don't want to say too much, but this is a very powerful piece with two distinct voices. It deals with some pretty complex issues in its 10 minutes, but its smooth and believable. Fantastic ending!

There's a reason this play has so many recommendations. Gonzalez has written an evergreen dialogue here, a play rooted in the moment and place, that could resonate anywhere. Populated with such human moments, in contrast to unimaginable confusion and sadness, draws the listener in close and doesn't let us go. This beautiful piece is both real and uplifting, a triumph of spirit.

Just when you might feel life's no longer worth living, some strange phenomenon or force challenges you to think what you might be giving up if you pull the trigger -- quite literally -- on yourself. In "I'll Tell You at Sunrise," that force takes the shape of a homeless man who is trying to make a suicidal man pause and reflect in this brief but poignant play. Sometimes only someone who doesn't know you can understand your pain, whatever it might be, and Franky Gonzalez captures the ironic powerful connection that strangers can feel.

This is an achingly beautiful play that touches on a subject that is very hard to deal with. Franky Gonzalez has made it powerful by avoiding the cliches and writing real moments. This play needs to be seen.