Shaun Leisher

It's exactly what the title says and it's quite a hoot. Loved being a fly on the wall as these gal pals catch up and yap about thrusting strap-ons up their partners butts. It's a brash and bawdy play that really goes there but also was moving in how it hands the idea of gender expansiveness. It was also a delightful depiction of a Mormon that isn't repressed or bigoted. I could see this play fitting in very well in a short play festival. Lots of laughs will be had but I think some tears might be shed too.

It was hard not to think of Oscar Wilde while reading this. It's a 19th century comedy of manners for the modern generation of gender expansive folx that The Importance of Being Earnest wishes it could be. Everyone in this play has something about them that is a little different than what's expected of them and they are all trying to supress it as they aim for a comfortable life. A life with a partner of the approved gender identity only though. The yearning these characters experience is palpable and kept me hooked.

It was refreshing to read this play on Juneteenth. Refreshing because it's play about Black people that's not about their oppression and their bodies are not under constant threat. This is a play about Black joy and Black utopia. The world-building in this play is phenomenal and I love how well-written each character is and how meticulously their place in this community is crafted. Every member of this cast (shout out to ensemble casts!!) is a distincly complex human and the way they relate together is so compelling.

Suicide is explored here so unlike most plays I've read on the topic. Joy doesn't want to die but she is so very tired of living. That perspective is such a fresh one and is looked at with so much empathy and without giving easy answers. By introducing Jonah, the play leans towards the buddy comedy genre and even starts to feel like a fucked up Its A Wonderful Life. This play will in some ways give hope to the despairing and also show how death isn't something to be feared but just another adventure when it is time.

We get the art of about college life and post-grad but what about that stretch of time between the start of freshman year and Thanskgiving Break? So much changes. People become unrecognizable. Especially to those they've knowen their whole lives. Kanzler does a really good job showing a snapshot into the lives of 7 friends that want so many things to change and yet long for them to stay the same. The friendships we have in high school aren't always meant to last and this play beautifully shows how fragile they can be.