←Recommendations of This Grass Kills People

THIS GRASS KILLS PEOPLE is like "Rhinoceros" for the 21st century. It is such a clear commentary on willful ignorance, and yet it transcends the cultural moment for which it was written. This play has simple and effective staging, and would be a lot of fun for the actors involved. It is a classic Daniel Prillaman play: part absurdism, part horror. 100% not to be missed!

If Ionesco were alive today, perhaps he’d have written THIS GRASS KILLS PEOPLE. Thankfully, Prillaman took up up the call.

TGKP is a modern-day Cassandra fable in which “KEEP OFF THE GRASS” is a dire warning. Rife with uncertainly and ambiguity, it captures the self-recrimination of the pandemic age: to preserve life, we’ve stopped our own, subjected ourselves to alienation and abuse, watched other people experiencing the freedoms we long for and often felt isolated and lonely. And when consequences come knocking, we feel not vindicated, but as if we’ve failed to do enough. Devastating.

THIS GRASS KILLS PEOPLE is a pointed fable about warnings and willful ignorance -- and what happens when people value personal freedom over the clear boundaries that the world sets to protect them. It is disconcerting, but important theatre, economically told. Excellent work!

The point of a fable is to make something abstract tangible to the reader so that the point, or moral if you will, is not lost on the most obtuse reader. In this cautionary tale, Daniel Prillaman delivers the tale with cutting precision and dexterity, not to mention a perfect ending.

"This Grass Kills People" is equal parts scathing satire, dark comedy, and tension-filled horror. It is blunt, it is playful, it is upsetting, it's shaming.

It's a very rich script that speaks to current times but will, unfortunately, always feel relevant as truth-tellers are ignored.

A funny, grotesque, and queasy portrait of the confused and confusing tower of Babel that is America in Covid-19 Year Three. And because Daniel Prillaman is so damn good at his job, it's also a funny, tense drama that transcends its specific metaphorical moment -- with engaging characters that would be a ball to play, sharp dialogue that zings, and a crazy-making horror premise. Savage, depressing, and fun, all at once.

Ibsen and Prillaman: two great tastes...

Prillaman takes the spirit of AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE combines it with a simple everyday warning, Keep off the Grass, and fashions a functional analogy that terrorizes with a light touch while taking no prisoners.

There's an elegant sense of dread hanging over the proceedings because you know Emerson is right and it's just a matter of time before others realize it, likely at their peril. The final moment is taut, quietly infuriating, and leaves you dying to know what's next... hence, it sticks the landing. Simple and stirring.

Absolutely terrifying. A perfect example of playing psychological tricks on the audience and building suspense. For a moment I actually believe that Emerson was in the wrong. Daniel Prillaman once again delivers a delectable horror that is equally entertaining and horrifying.

Chilling, and remains chillingly timely.
Prillaman is a master of creeping dread and the intersection between everyday life and unsettling dread.
Somewhere, Rod Serling sits beaming, tips his cap and raises a toast.