←Recommendations of 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.

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.

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.

Spectacular piece! The thing that astounds me most about it is how Treuhaft-Ali uses a tightly written ensemble of 8 to cover so much ground. She renders each individual's story with nuance and complexity, establishes and explores the worlds of two entirely different schools, and makes large and important conclusions about the crossroads of public education, race + intersectional identity, privilege, and inequality with a deft hand! The fluid mix of gorgeously naturalistic scenes blended with compellingly theatrical sequences was a treat to read. I'd so love to see this realized onstage!

ABCD is a brutally honest depiction, even indictment, of the major flaws and inequities in the American public school system, even as it maintains a remarkable degree of care for the individuals stuck inside of it. No character is portrayed entirely as a villain, but no one is let off the hook either - it is always complicated. I saw the virtual reading of ABCD in the Playwrights Realm's INK'D Festival and can't wait to see this play make waves onstage and/or in classrooms across the country.