←Recommendations of Arbor Falls

I read the play tonight in one sitting and texted many of my friends about it immediately. There are so many interesting possible permutations in this piece. It could say so many things depending on the casting of specific roles. I would see this play many, many times. I would also be interested in seeing this done in a "draw the name of a role out of a hat" type of way. Truly fascinating.

There's an amazing moment in this play that made me gasp and close my eyes to imagine the ways in which it could be staged, and there were many ways. In ARBOR FALLS, I connected so deeply with the shape of spirituality in the lives of these characters. Caridad Svich presents the dialogue in such poetic and creative ways throughout, giving those reading the text an extra layer of meaning to incorporate into their performance and our imaginations. This is a play that will stay with me and continue to reveal even deeper meanings the more I reflect.

Lyrical, lush poetry meets spare conversational dialogue. Both of these modes serve to characterize the Preacher and the intriguing landscape of the remainder of the town quite well. I always love creative visual clues in texts to help unpack a text, and the way lines in the two-character exchanges are grouped together quickly and effectively guided my reading of the scenes. I loved how fleshed out the world and town were by just these simple duologues and monologues. Well-drawn themes of compassion and community made this feel like an important and, as others have stated, timeless parable.

I loved the quiet power of this play. The majority of the play is written in two-character scenes which leads to a great feeling of intimacy, whether those characters are long-time lovers or have just met. This play felt timeless and contemporary all at once.

I was deeply reminded of Church (by Young Jean Lee) due to the themes and the flexible nature of the casting. Arbor Falls feels so impressively sparse and rich at the same time. There are multiple powerful monologues for the preacher and the traveler that are prayer as much as theatre. The loss of a congregation, the yearning for nature, and the appeal of wandering make this post-Romantic world so universal. The honesty in the text hurt my heart like a purifying fire.

Caridad’s precision with language crafts characters I immediately embraced. Arbor Falls is a town created from dust but rooted in longing- the longing to understand purpose and place, longing for change but afraid of how that might happen. ARBOR FALLS asks where the root of compassion lives. How we perceive one another and how much we can offer to those in need. There is an open and infinite sense to this script that I love. I’m eager to read more of the Psalm Cycle.

This play touches on a thread in our culture that is real and is disturbing. The truths in this play are familiar, and the way in which Svich dealt with the topic was both appropriate and genius. As always, the language is unique - with a balanced and beautiful mix of realism and poetry. Religion, economics, community, ethics, and morality are all skillfully threaded in this story that is told revealing the underbelly of flawed humanity through a small town that could be any small town in America; that's why it is good. The opportunity for theatricality is endless.

This play is both extremely of today while also being timeless. It appears that politics and religion will be strange bedfellows for the foreseeable future and Svich's poetic and at times sparse writing beautifully captures the gravity of that. The role of Preacher is a fantastic flawed hero like many others that populate Svich's plays. What happens when helping others and helping our own are at odds?

The language is both economical and effectively lyrical in this commentary of modern America's moral compass and depressing hypocrisies. Svich exposes the rot underneath the veneer of small town America and explores the hollow arguments of economic hardship and historical interaction as justification for immoral acts. It's laid out bare here. Religious disillusion, resentment, the struggle to be better, and yes, even love. Svich is creating something special in her AMERICAN PSALM cycle. Taken together with RED Bike you feel the rumblings of something awe-inspiring just over the horizon. I am anxious to read more. I highly recommend this play!