←Recommendations of Apologies to Lorraine Hansberry (You Too August Wilson)

No apologies necessary here. Rachel Lynett has written a play about the monolith that is Blackness that isn't a monolith that is so brilliant because she lets us question all we think we know and then some. Thank you Lynett for your willingness to write a truth that stands for everyone and no one at the same time for the contradictions that rub up against story and structure so that the way the play is built is the story of the play. I can't wait to see this theatrical, head-smackingly fabulous play.

Wow. Just, wow. I love to read scripts that win such a high honor (Yale Drama Series), because I'm a nerd, curious, and I love new work. Sometimes I read a few pages and think -sorry, I'm a honest person - sometimes I think, Meh. Sometimes I think, I've read this before, with different characters or a different setting, but it's the same story. NOT THIS PLAY. It's new, yet hauntingly familiar. Surreal, yet painfully real. Timely, yet timeless. The dialogue sang. I devoured it! Can't wait to see on stage.

I absolutely love all the different ways Lynett rolls with the meta. The different kinds of "exposition" monologues and when Izaak comes out near the end and then what follows... wow! Highly recommend.

This genre-bending and playfully, sharply written piece explores with such complexity anti-blackness and intersectionality within various Black communities. There is so much examined here--the human tendency to other, categorize, and marginalize; the intersection of homophobia and other forms of prejudice and oppression; the multitude of what "Black identity" is; the dangers of utopia--in two short and potent acts. The internal realities established in each of the two acts, the fourth-wall-breaking direct address, the intriguing potential for novel design elements could feel chaotic in the wrong hands, but Lynett creates such a fully-realized, singular theatrical world that cohesively gels. Fantastic!

The structure of this play is dynamic and challenging. It is an exploration of identity and race in America that I would be humbled to see onstage. The world building and character relationships are flawless - Lynett's craft is glowing!!!

I love this... it's an incredibly theatrical exploration of some incredibly important ideas.

"Blackness is not a monolith." This statement is the crux of what this play is about but it is so much more than that. Rachel Lynett has given a gift to Black actors and audiences to see their struggles around anti-blackness portrayed on stage. White people are welcome to bear witness to this world that is not made for them but we have to understand it is not for us. The theatrical magic bursting out of this play thrills me. Theatres just need to devote whole seasons to Rachel Lynett's work.

Well-written, hilarious when appropriate, and thought-provoking! Definitely one to consider if you are looking for a script that talks bluntly about race, and I mean that in the best way. I'd put this on the same list as Fairview, Slave Play, Barbecue, etc.

This is such a smart, funny and evocative play. It would be such a rich experience to direct, perform or watch. Super interested in how it continues to develop!