I saw a staged reading of this play at the 2023 Essential Theatre festival. It's a tightly written, suspenseful, masterfully structured drama -- but wait, is it a courtroom drama? a family drama? a psychological drama? Somehow Emily manages to weave together elements from multiple genres without losing pacing or thematic focus, and builds to a surprising, devastating ending that reveals costs of the death penalty we hadn't considered.

A powerful, remarkable play about the death penalty and the costs it exacts from those around the convicted. Elsie's desperation is as understandable as it is hard to watch as she does whatever she can to save her father. This play should be produced often and everywhere.

Wow, what a great play. "The Rock & The Hard Place" follows a daughter trying anything and everything she can to get her wrongfully convicted father's sentence overturned before his execution date. In addition to being a compelling story with pages that practically turn themselves, it is a powerful reminder of how flawed the American justice system is. This is the kind of work that is a call to arms. I loved it.