ABCD

by May Treuhaft-Ali

In an underserved public school on the verge of shutdown, a teacher erases wrong answers from his students’ exams, hoping higher scores will keep the school open. In an elite magnet program nearby, a student texts 140 classmates the answers for a physics test. ABCD weaves these stories together to interrogate the inequities of our public school system. When the joys and challenges of learning are reduced to a...

In an underserved public school on the verge of shutdown, a teacher erases wrong answers from his students’ exams, hoping higher scores will keep the school open. In an elite magnet program nearby, a student texts 140 classmates the answers for a physics test. ABCD weaves these stories together to interrogate the inequities of our public school system. When the joys and challenges of learning are reduced to a multiple-choice test, who runs out of options?

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ABCD

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  • Liam Castellan: ABCD

    A clever juxtaposition of two very different schools with similar scandals for very different reasons. Adds a teaspoon of non-realism that elevates the entire story. You care about every single character. Tight as a drum. This should be produced all across the country.

    A clever juxtaposition of two very different schools with similar scandals for very different reasons. Adds a teaspoon of non-realism that elevates the entire story. You care about every single character. Tight as a drum. This should be produced all across the country.

  • Michael Cotey: ABCD

    This play is devastating and vital. To show the stresses of public education on either end of the spectrum – either the stresses on teachers in under-resourced schools or the stresses on students in highly-competitive schools – would, and has, been enough for plays in the past. This tremendous play is SO unique (and bold) in tackling both and, together, shows how utterly broke the American education system is: where good people are pushed to act immorally to keep up with a fundamentally unfair system that privileges the privileged.

    This play is devastating and vital. To show the stresses of public education on either end of the spectrum – either the stresses on teachers in under-resourced schools or the stresses on students in highly-competitive schools – would, and has, been enough for plays in the past. This tremendous play is SO unique (and bold) in tackling both and, together, shows how utterly broke the American education system is: where good people are pushed to act immorally to keep up with a fundamentally unfair system that privileges the privileged.

  • Shaun Leisher: ABCD

    Great theatre has the power to shine a light on aspects on our world that need our attention. Morality is compromised in this play but I dare anyone watching to say for sure whether they would or would not commit the crimes in this play for the young people they are committed for. A brilliant play about our broken education system and the harm the model minority myth ravages on people no matter their age.

    Great theatre has the power to shine a light on aspects on our world that need our attention. Morality is compromised in this play but I dare anyone watching to say for sure whether they would or would not commit the crimes in this play for the young people they are committed for. A brilliant play about our broken education system and the harm the model minority myth ravages on people no matter their age.

View all 5 recommendations

Development History

  • Type Residency, Organization The Playwrights Realm, Year 2021
  • Type Workshop, Organization The Playwrights Realm, Year 2020