←Recommendations of Tracks

This play is first and foremost a masterclass in scriptwriting. Exquisite dialogue. And then Bray elevates it further with a compelling story and complex characters, all of them young and struggling in a world that's too big and too fast for them. If you read this and aren't horrified by the idea that this could have been you in your youth, and that you managed to somehow push through against all odds, then you, pal, lived a charmed life. Tracks is brutal but necessary. Put this on stage!

The feelings we have when we're young are almost too much to bear. And sometimes the things that happen to us when we're young shouldn't be felt by anyone. These characters are doing their best to find magic in a world that is swiftly industrializing and crumbling at the same time. But myths and magic are distractions, and the darkness that hits these characters when they are trying hard not to feel is more painful than they could have imagined. This is a harsh, yet magical story. There are no answers. But this play is legendary.

A play like a slow moving train wreck that inexorably hurtles toward its conclusion - but on the way, like in any of our lives, there is humor, beauty, humanity (warts and all). TRACKS by John Patrick Bray captures the melancholy and fading hope of adolescence and the ache of small town people — kids, mostly — unable to stop the changes that will inevitably tear the lives they know apart. This is a moving, dark, and magical piece of work.

A haunting and haunted story that examines friendship, class, family, addiction, self-destruction, and local mythology. Ghosts travel through this play like the Hudson Valley region this play takes place in. Richly drawn characters, pitch-perfect dialogue, and imaginatively vivid stagecraft populate this moving story. A perfect play for young actors!

There is so much to unpack in this play! The Hudson River Valley itself becomes a character, profoundly influencing the plot and the people in it. I appreciated the balance of light-hearted moments, which complemented the deep reflections on life, love, and loss. Bray's use of magical realism enhances the theatrical experience, making it truly unique. I highly recommend this piece for its relatable characters, witty dialogue, and emotional journey, all beautifully tied together by the railroad theme. I'm so glad I heard it read because it truly comes alive even more than I could imagine.

Life on the tracks is perhaps the only thing worse than life on the wrong side of the tracks. John Patrick Bray doesn't provide the audience a happy ending in the gritty and beautifully written TRACKS. He also wisely doesn't delete the good little moments in life from his tale of struggles of young adults(?) coping with circumstances that provide little wiggle room imagining a brighter future ahead. It's simultaneously real and surreal and makes for good theatre - it packs an emotional punch. There are so many moments of opportunity for theatrical magic. Excellent work.

Tracks is gut-wrenching. Bray has created a world on the banks of the Hudson sought as a refuge by local teens but that becomes the site of tragedy. The characters are complex but fully fleshed out and compelling. Tracks is spellbinding, heartbreaking, magical, incredibly theatrical, stunning in its impact.

A powerful, shattering work. The train metaphor is well served because one constantly senses it barreling down on these characters in its own inevitable way. There is so much of humanity in this piece contrasted with the inhumanity of the "corporate machine" that I was left in deep thought about the ideas contained within for a good time after completing my reading. Bray brings a unique and palpable rhythm to a terrifying and exhilarating modern mythology that ultimately provides a glimpse into a vivid, startling, and, yes, even sometimes wistfully joyful time shared by these fragile human engines.

Wonderful and terrible and real, Tracks balances on the edge of a the cliff between dark, grim adolescent reality and absurdist mythology, delving into the mistakes we make, the people and places we come to love, and the legends we leave behind. Rich, complex characters, heartfelt conversation and more than a few laughs fill the spaces between the rush of the oncoming train. Magnificent.

Small-towns are rumoured to be places where 'everyone knows everyone'. Well by the end of reading "Tracks" I felt I knew so much about John's young characters and how their lives are shaped by addiction, the complexity of relationships and by tragedy. The play is loaded with heart-wrenching moments when I shed tears from reading! So there isn't a doubt in my mind that, given the chance to take to a stage, this play would have audiences being amused and devastated through this story of youth and the impact life has upon it. Truly wonderfully written!