←Recommendations of Mere Waters

Compelling. Powerful. I couldn't stop reading. This is an exceptional piece of work. And it left me breathless.

Jillian Blevins has crafted a miracle of a play in "Mere Waters." Read it, produce it.

"Mere Waters" appeals to the heart and the mind, to emotion and intellect; it has a historic setting but speaks to contemporary concerns; there is dramatic irony that an audience will cringe about on first reference, but there are also surprises and unforeseen turns; the dialogue has brutal realism as well as otherworldly moments, but this is also a highly visual play.

The Holocaust remains an example of some of the darkest, purest evils of which humanity is capable. We learn about it as children (at least, I don't think Republicans have eradicated that from the curriculum), but there's an element of aging that disconnects us from the horrors. That's why we tell stories. To remember. Lest we repeat it. "Mere Waters" is a staggering play, and a celebration and struggle of life, amidst so much cruelty and death. I had no idea Dr. Perl existed. Now that I do, it means everything. A call to action from the past. Magnificent work.

There are some who feel that Jewish storytelling about the Holocaust has run its course; priority should now, in their estimation, be given to other eras, struggles, and triumphs of the Jewish people.

With “Mere Waters,” Jillian Blevins has produced a work that should dispel the doubts of any naysayers weary of another torturous return to that chapter of our shared history.

The work Blevins has put into bringing this stranger-than-fiction true story to life for the stage shines through. “Mere Waters,” in an era of rampant anti-semitic and anti-choice rhetoric, is a vital cultural document, not to be missed.