←Recommendations of Moreno

The protests during the national anthem by NFL players has been a polarizing issue in this nation. Every news channel you turned on had a different view on it. We heard from so many people about what it meant to kneel during the anthem but we rarely paid attention to what the players that were doing the kneeling were going through. With balletic scenes of football play and heated scenes taking place off the field, Wilkins has written a vital play that imagined what various players of various races were going through at this time in history.

With the acerbic wit of Stephen Adly Guigis and the soaring poeticism of August Wilson, MORENO tackles a deep and complex question: Is there a right time to take a stand?

Each of the four characters in Wilkins' play are well-drawn and complex, and playwright masterfully reveals new layers and depth to them with each passing scene. The subject matter is expressed in a thought-provoking and passionate manner that never feels didactic--this is a play whose heart beats fervently and passionately, and whose mind is sharp and nimble.

I look forward to seeing this play onstage soon!

From start to finish, we are in great hands with Wilkins providing strong theatricality and an immense facility with language. Wonderful work! It should be produced as soon as possible!

This is an ambitious and timely play that explores the importance, potential costs, and complexities of using one’s platform and privilege to call out and amplify demands for justice. I loved the theatricality of Moreno and would love to see the football moments staged. I also admired how deftly Wilkins mixes fact with fiction. This is a play that should garner lots of attention.

A spectacular piece that balances hilarity, politics, and heartbreak and addresses the relationship between non-Black POC and the BLM movement and anti-Black racism. Wilkins provides four distinct, layered characters with impeccably written voices. The shifts in alliances, character evolution, and the eventual climax and resolution of the play are all realistic and compelling. Abstract movement pieces punctuate the play at exciting rhythms. Finally, Wilkins explores masculine identity and its intersection with sports and race, speaking to demographics that don't necessarily see themselves as "theater audiences," and I hope this play is produced frequently to subvert that expectation.

This play is going places. Taking a very topical situation and lacing it with nuance, a strong sense of voice, and even stronger characters, Wilkins creates a play that stands as not only a monument to the time in which it was created but a call to investigate the concept of protest from a position of power.

The music of this play’s dialogue is matched by the seriousness of its ideas and its courage in following those ideas to their logical conclusion. An insightful, grounded investigation of the politics of protest and of the personal risks taken by those who choose to make a stand.

It is the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's pleasure to recommend Pravin Wilkins and their play Moreno as a finalist for our 2020 National Playwrights Conference. This particular work emerged from a highly competitive, anonymous, and multi-tiered selection process to become one of 63 finalists out of more than 1,500 submissions. This enthralling piece galvanized the hearts and theatrical imaginations of our reading teams and is fully championed by our offices. We are honored to put our enthusiastic support behind this writer and their ongoing contributions to the American Theater.

In a country where the narrative of racism centers black and white, what is the responsibility of the non-black person of color? This powerhouse drama questions the nature of the field, what to leave on it, what to take from it and where to place it when it comes to both taking a stand and bending a knee. Its characters are honest and its language doesn’t bother with a sugarcoat. It's a gripping exploration of race and the plight of the professional athlete, the sacrifices of fame, and the blurred lines between "team" and "family."