←Recommendations of Hairy & Sherri

Hairy & Sherri by Adrienne Dawes was a finalist for NNPN's 2022 National Showcase of New Plays, and we are pleased to recommend it.

This play adroitly navigates themes of race and class with a biting sense of humor that keeps you guessing, while also packing plenty of emotional gut punches. Hairy and Sherri are a wholly believable and compelling couple who mean well, but often fall short of reaching those good intentions. The supporting characters, especially Ryshi's Latina caseworker, Vera, are very memorable.

A superb piece whose dark, biting, comedic thread is as well-realized as the conversations it provokes around adoption, privilege, identity, and more. Hairy and Sherri are a perfectly rendered misguided-and-"uber woke" couple whose relationship uncovers its warts as they "nobly" take on the challenge of fostering Ryshi. The convention of Ryshi's dual portrayal so brilliantly theatricalizes the "adultification" and othering of Black children in a highly original fashion that I won't soon forget. The bookending of the piece with Vera in her office provides heartbreaking and poignant punctuation to the rest of the darkly satirical play.

There's a volatility to this play that is remarkable. Ms. Dawes will inspire a lot of heartfelt conversations within the communities that stage this piece! Hairy & Sherri is an unflinching examination of race, privilege, and the pressures of parenthood. The theatrical halves of Ryshi will stay in my mind for a long time.