←Recommendations of Yellow Wallpaper 2.0 2020

An arresting drama set during the Covid-19 pandemic looking back into American history and literary history and to one specific woman - feminist icon Charlotte Perkins Gilman. It's way for not only comparison of female roles (in marriage and motherhood)--brillantly showing not much as changed for those suffering from post-partum depression -- but a divergence, a necessary recognition of Gilman's racism which is revealed expertly, resulting in an incredible resolution. Check it out actor!

In this tour-de-force piece, Maisel tackles the compounding challenges of womanhood, motherhood, and marriage set against the very real and very terrifying backdrop of the early days of Covid-19. With stunning poetry, imagery, and theatricality, Maisel drops us into this world and challenges us to reckon with all of the above in a fresh, contemporary way. I'd love to see this staged!

Jen Maisel's writing is always strong and striking, often unexpectedly poetic and raw in a way that catches you off guard. YELLOW WALLPAPER 2.0 2020 is a beautiful and powerful "riff" off of a classic that takes us into a place and time (NYC early pandemic) in way that is both familiar and terrifying, through a character who is very "now" and absolutely unforgettable. This play is a tour de force that will last the test of time and then some.

This is a powerful, modern interpretation of a classic story. Wonderful, lyrical writing. Highly recommend!

I recently experienced a Lucy Lortel reading of this play in March of this year (2024). This play provides for one heckuva tour de force performance for one virtuoso actress! Riveting. Profound. Highly recommend.

Wow! Incredible writing and acting! I felt like I was unravelling along with her and for all the same reasons. Brava, brava!

Wow! This is an incredibly dramatic piece that pulls no punches about motherhood, breastfeeding, cis-het-partnering, the neediness and selfishness of white men, the pressures on and anxieties of people who give birth and our desire to have lives beyond our ability to feed and clean our spawn, the loneliness of parenting as the primary caregiver... There is so much said here in EDGE Of ONE's SEAT DRAMA about the inequities that continue to this very minute. This play is so relatable. I wish I'd written it! VISCERAL and full of desperation. POWERFUL!

Jennifer Maisel offers us a modern interpretation of Gilman’s classic short story The Yellow Wallpaper. While the setting of the story is now contemporary – the early days of the COVID 19 pandemic – the themes of the original work are present. T’s struggles with motherhood, subordination, isolation, and eventually her physical and mental health reveal that while much has changed for women – much has stayed the same. Maisel’s narrative, however, is enhanced by the addition of T’s discovery of Perkin’s racism – an addition that elevates this version beyond a mere modern retelling into something far more powerful.

This is such a shattering and relatable piece. I too, read the Yellow Wallpaper as a young scholar and was forever changed by it. I too, was somewhat grateful and comforted by being isolated during the pandemic. But the twist of "the after" is what really shook me. The post partem depression is understandable in today's world. The lack of assistance with child rearing, very familiar. But Charlotte's words beyond The Yellow Wallpaper are so unrelatable and the discovery of those words breaks not only T, but this reader as well. Heartbreakingly superb work here.

This play is a visceral and highly relatable look at what it means to be a woman in this world today through the lens of the early days of Covid. As usual, Maisel's writing is highly poetic, specific and visual. With Yellow Wallpaper 2.0 2020, she takes us on a journey of one family and makes us face our own struggles as individuals and partners.