←Recommendations of Maybe It Just Sags Like A Heavy Load

As many others have stated in their recommendations, 'Polar Bears...' is a play to program NOW and repeatedly. We had the honor of reading a revised version of the script as part of our virtual New Queer Works series in Fall 2020, in partnership with the Pepperdine University theater department. Vincent Terrell Durham never goes for the easy way out. He paints each character with the nuances of humanity, leaving just enough ambiguous space for us to explore our own lapses in action. By the end, we stunned by our neglect toward the lives of Black men and boys.

Vincent Terrell Durham has pulled off something very impressive with this one. He delves into police violence, well-intentioned white people, and endangered species with humor, nuance, and a cast of characters who feel like real, complex people. The dialogue is razor sharp. I thoroughly enjoyed this play.

A fun ride that focuses on race, class, morals and political correctness. The characters are a diverse group who challenge each other in poignant and powerful ways. A juicy theatrical experience!

Excellent! Durham manages to excoriate white supremacy, gentrifiers, and virtue signalers while still showing us flawed and complex characters who aren't all good or bad. The sharp and satiric humor is perfectly pitched and equal parts cringeworthy and all-too-familiar. In Tom, Molly, and Peter, we see three super different but equally harmful images of white liberalism. The endangered species motif threaded throughout is quite potent as well. The final exchange between Jaquan and Elijah is gutting, quiet in its power, and an effective punctuation mark for the piece. Wonderful, essential work.

This is the kind of play you read with your stomach... full of tough questions and even tougher answers, Durham's play - in which well-meaning characters navigate the racial hierarchy of a gentrifying Harlem - offers unblinking insights into the unintentional harm that can be done when groups of people don't understand each other's perspectives. With an ending that will leave you breathless, POLAR BEARS, BLACK BOYS & PRAIRIE FRINGED ORCHIDS is timely, brave, and hella smart. And you should produce it like... yesterday.

Vincent's eye and ear is tip top and what he points them in concert toward and at is both timely and much needed, without being fleeting or coming across as an easily dismissed "issue-play." He doesn't try and make us comfortable. He is a voice of our theater and our time.

From the character descriptions alone, I was into this story. These characters are fantastically complicated, interesting and relatable. I wanted to see them at the cocktail party and watch the evening unfold. It has a mix of a farce with the snappy, witty dialogue and humor while sharing many important, eye-opening messages about racism, privilege, and police brutality. It's a relevant and much-needed mirror for us non-people of color. It drew me in, made me laugh, cringe, and cry. Final thoughts: Wow. Powerful f*ing play.

What a powerful, moving play. The playwright has a mastery of pacing, building tension and using a sense of humor that stems organically from well-drawn, rich characters. The play elicits a lot of emotion, and stays with the reader long after it's over. Every theater should consider this play. As entertaining as it is relevant.

Vincent's writing is effortless and so powerful. I'm gobsmacked. Polar Bears, Black Boys & Prairie Fringed Orchids is must-see theatre. Looking for a play that directly addresses white savior-ism, white privilege, racism and all those uncomfortable truths it's hard for us white people to face and talk about? THIS is that play. I'd be shocked and disappointed if it's not programmed in multiple theaters asap. It's a play that pushes while thoroughly entertaining with dialogue that absolutely sings. It's what we need now.