←Recommendations of Into The River I Went

The tension and danger manifesting as the beast palpitates throughout. Information is promised early on, making me want to know more, and delivers in full.

In the midst of possible demise, will these women be able to come together? A revealing and insightful look inside the perspectives of these women and what has kept them apart. Well done.

Wow. Part horror play, part dissection of the generational effects of colonization on race, society, and gender - I was fully sucked into this mysterious mystical world and completely not ready for the ending. This play is literally the perfect play to produce today with it's intelligent contributions to the cultural conversation and it's utterly terrifying surrealism. I highly recommend!

An engaging play that brings you in from page one. Just when you think you've figured out what's going to happen next, it delves further into the isms we need to confront and heal from. It all builds to a shocking and satisfying ending.

A play that plays on your expectations and teases you with suspense. I love how you're never quite sure who the enemy is or if they will win.

Diaz-Marcano deftly creates a world that combines horror, magical realism, generational trauma, and racism. Demons are personified and people are not polite, but ultimately these characters come together over the scars that they share. A classic "I thought it was one thing, and then it was another". It is a world where I imagine the set design and the landscape plays as much a role as the actors. Theatrical in every sense, this play offers a surprising and refreshing moment of hope in the midst of horror, which is certainly a timely theme.

This brave story speaks to the idea that the future is female, which also means the healing must begin. Paóla and Janet appear to have so much in the way between them, as they fight through racism, politics, feminism, gender roles, class and men. The power comes from within, as they both come to realize that finding each other on common ground, means jumping from where they stand, diving into the deep waters and going against the current. As they tell you about their journey, I ask that you believe them.

Nelson Diaz-Marcano may be one of the most passionate writers out there, and he uses his burning passion to create intensely creative, theatrical works that are never less than riveting, frequently jolting, and always intelligently crafted. "Into The River I Went" is no exception; it grabbed me by the throat right at the beginning, and held me fast as it raced through all its twists and turns, right up to its finale.

I love the parable-like theatrical world Diaz-Marcano creates here! The structural trajectory of the play is also exciting--we begin with funny and sharp barb-trading, segue into a paradigm-shifting conversation between two women, and then finish with a freight-train finale that is tense and satisfying. Diaz-Marcano's eye towards the intersectionality of the characters provides a nuanced and complex exploration of what happens when comfort and prejudices get between two forces that should be allies. Rather than wallowing in tragedy, the play shows up a model of what happens when the privileged majority takes a stand against a toxic-but-devil-you-know enemy.

A play that truly surprised me. You really think you know where this battle between two strong women is going but then they connect and it becomes a play about how women are pitted against each other. They needed no men on stage to come to that conclusion and understanding. Only when the men return does all hell break loose again. An ending that brings a smile to the faces of characters and audiences while also being utterly horrifying.