←Recommendations of overpass

This two-hander is one I'm gonna be thinking about for awhile. A pitch black comedy with tons of heart.

I read this all in one sitting and felt like I was both laughing and holding my breath the entire time. In this powerful two-hander, Specht provides one of the some of the most compelling renderings of depression and suicidal thoughts that I've read. Chelsea and Alex are complex characters drawn with extraordinarily nuanced brush strokes. The dialogue is both spare and full of so much subtextual information, and this is a gorgeous example of an impeccably structured two-character piece. It moved me to tears, while the characters themselves avoided maudlin sentiment. Highly theatrical and profound! Produce it!

I think about the dialogue in overpass all the time: the tenderness and electricity, the bruising insight and loving detail, the rhythm and the undertow. These sisters sound just like my sisters— they’re real in a way that’s wrenching and uncanny. Is it true that the best stories cost something to tell? I don’t know, but overpass makes me think so. It’s a deep dive into dark water, and then it’s a pearl.

Overpass provides an intimate look at sisterhood and mental illness. This play is one of the most nuanced, complex, and brutally honest depictions of what it means to live with suicidal thoughts and impulses. Specht's characters shift seamlessly between existential dread, layers of guilt and shame, and guesses as to whether the guy on Maury is really the father, allowing moments of levity to exist within the dark subject matter. It's refreshing to see two women who get to exist on stage in their fullness; we get to see them coping, struggling, recovering, breaking, and living messy lives.