←Recommendations of The Virtuous Fall of the Girls from Our Lady of Sorrows

The thing is - I used to be a catholic schoolgirl. A gay catholic schoolgirl. In lesser hands, this play would not have spoken true - but speak true it did! There's such a tenderness and warmth to these kids, such a truth to their interactions. All their failings deeply human and profoundly teenage. A tender, moving piece of art that speaks to exactly what it means to be a kid in one of these places.

Every part in Virtuous Fall is meaty and juicy. Every actor gets something great to do! How rare is that? It's hysterical, tender, and very tightly structured. Think Dance Nation with nuns instead of Abby Lee Miller, or The Wolves, with a blasphemous adaptation of Measure For Measure instead of soccer nationals at its center. Yes it is that good. It made me feel like I had gone to a Catholic high school myself and I'm Jewish.

Funny and profound. Each of these characters is wonderfully written, all of them still learning about the world, themselves, and each other, and there's real heart in the way we discover their different facets and complexities over the course of this story. Sometimes awkward, often poignant, and overall inspiring in how the girls find their place within the challenging world of the school.

High school is rough. Being a teenage girl is rough. Throw Catholicism on top of that - especially if you're queer - and things get even rougher. This play about a group of girls attending a Catholic high school in 2002 captures all of that so perfectly. Their struggles feel very real and relatable, the dialogue is engaging and fast, and I love that the nun has her own complexity rather than being a stereotype. Also the ending is perfect. What a beautiful play.

This beautiful, hilarious, heart-wrenching play slices right through to the humanity of six teenage girls trying to assert their voices in the oppressive environment of catholic school. Femia's words will make you question your own assumptions about religion, constructions of femininity, and theatre itself. Read it! Recommend it! Produce it!

Some plays leap off the page in a way that reminds you, especially right now, that they are meant to be performed live, on a stage. "The Virtuous Fall of the Girls from Our Lady of Sorrows" is one of those plays. It's an exhilarating, vibrant, heartbreaking, thought-provoking read that makes me yearn to SEE it in the best way. Each character is fully rendered and even those who at first glance might be less deserving of grace are still given it, without letting them off the hook either. A play I will definitely come back to again and again!

Does faith demand we simplify difficult issues? Should it complicate feelings that should be simple? This is a touching and profound play filled to the brim with juicy roles for young women. Femia’s scenes are witty, honest, and potent, and strike a particular chord for anybody remotely close to a religious upbringing. Being human is hard enough, answering questions of morality is hard enough, and she perfectly captures how our beliefs (or the beliefs of others) manage to make our struggles easier and so much harder at the same time. Produce. This. Play. (And Minnie’s).

Femia perfectly captures the fear and horniness and desperation and desire for more that I felt as a queer teenage girl in catholic school and also captured the queer teenage catholic girl I wish I had been brave enough to be, and wish I had felt like I could be but wasn't give space to be, and wish I felt safe enough at the time to be. I desperately hope I get to see this produced. And to every theatre company that is trying to 'produce 'measure for measure' for the #metoo era"--please just produce this instead.

What a joy to read so many young women rendered so deftly. Gina Femia captures the awkwardness and profundity of teenage identity formation with crisply naturalistic dialogue. As with all of Femia's plays, I didn't have to glance at the character list to start hearing their distinct and unique voices and telling them apart from the beginning. This play leans into questions of faith, organized religion, healing from trauma, and navigating one's identity within institutions or oppressive structures literally designed to keep one down. High schoolers should read and perform this piece.

Gina's characters are complete and whole in a way rarely seen on stage. You root for the characters and their relationships as they navigate an environment not predisposed to their favor... and it feels earned and authentic so that at every beat you are fully engaged. Also, Gina doesn't take cheap shots or easy ways out when she explores the conflict of identity versus a repressive landscape... no quick political outs... no, it really digs into the circumstances and makes the world feel lived in. Honestly, I hope this is the kinda play high schools produce soon.