←Recommendations of The Age of Understanding or, The Character of Dad

I saw a wonderful reading of this short play - that slides gracefully into a monologue - at the Mid-America Theatre Conference. Both funny and devastating (a hallmark of Gonzalez' semi-autobiographical work), a father tries to come to terms with his own shortcomings while reconciling a difficult history with his own father. More than a "father play", this piece speaks to the angst of all parents.

A brief, yet brutally honest piece about fatherhood and its difficulties. Gonzalez has created a singular character who is haunted by his own father's abandonment and considers following in his footsteps. A beautifully written shot to the heart.

As with his other plays, Gonzalez seems to slow time down for us. He creates a space for intimacy and introspection, for probing trauma and dealing with the present and preparing for the difficult future. Honest writing on manhood, masculinity, and fatherhood that you can't ignore. Necessary theatre right here.

It is a scary, scary thing to realize that your parents are making all of this up as they go along. That everyone is making it up as we go along. Sometimes, your instinct is to lash out, or take flight.
Gonzalez continues his inspiring trend of holding up the scariest, most terrifying, darkest corners of his - of our - soul and exposing them to the light. As any true artist must. And Gonzalez is. Artist. Artist. Artist.
And in doing so, he finds ... not forgiveness, but compassion, which is almost as good. Perhaps it is even better.

No one writes parenting quite like Gonzalez. "The Age of Understanding" gives audiences a glimpse at the humor and the terror a father experiences the first time they are left alone with their child. This is more than a silly "how do I change a diaper?" skit--Gonzalez skillfully forms his characters and cracks them open for all to see; showing you their deepest fears and insecurities projected against their hopeful futures. The person behind the parent. A rare and gorgeous representation of fatherhood.

A beautiful piece about the emotional baggage men inherit from their fathers and pass on to their children. It is a very raw and touching exploration of parenting, marriage, masculinity and the ability to communicate in an openly loving way.

I heard a staged reading of this play at the Mid-Atlantic Theatre Conference and was moved to tears by the humanity in the play. We need stories like this that help us save ourselves from repeating family history that chains us to the past.

I just read this short play after having heard it at the Mid-America Theatre Conference this weekend. This is one hell of a moving piece. Every parent will recognize themselves in this beautifully honest and real slice of life about caring for and loving their child. Franky, as always, goes deep into the heart of his pain. I wept again.

Beautifully observed, truthfully written, it speaks to all of us as it examines how our past stays with us even as we aim to move forward. It's not that our history will ever leave us, but we get to determine how we move forward. A lovely and direct piece, eminently involving and relatable.

A perfect, gem-like moment of self-discovery, of realizing who you are and where you come from but taking that crucial leap of faith of believing that you can do better. How Gonzalez captures that moment in this short piece with such graceful wit and such an intuitive feel for the profound things we say when we are completely failing at profundity is beyond me, but it is truly wonderful to read and behold.