Spoiler Paragraph for Interrobang Theatre Project's Grace

Karl talks about how during World War II his family helped hide Jewish people and how he had his first kiss with one of them, but the Germans found them and he was forced to rape her. It was heartbreaking. He shares that story with Sara and Steve when they are asking him about his faith in God. And he says he doesn't believe in God, because something like that could happen to someone. Near the end of the play, he talks about his wife's funeral and how afterwards he ran into the girl his family had hidden and they went to a Starbucks and she forgave him for what he had done. He still might not believe in God, but he does now believe in hope and the possibility of forgiveness. Return to the Review.

Spoiler Paragraph for To Catch a Fish at TimeLine Theatre Company

At the end of act one, Terry hits his girlfriend Rochelle, when she is asking him not to go to the store anymore because she thinks it is dangerous. It is a very hard scene to decide how you feel about it because Terry has brain damage and doesn't seem to understand what he has done and how much it hurt Rochelle and their relationship. You can say, Terry doesn't deserve her because he hit her, or you could say that Terry didn't know what he was doing and Rochelle should give him a second chance. Or you could say that they both messed up because she was being physically forceful with him and he was just trying to get away. It is hard for me to decide what I think about it. I don't think people should be forgiven for abusing someone if they meant to abuse them, but it is really hard with Terry because he didn't understand what he was doing and he was being pressured. This situation is even more complicated than a normal someone hits someone and they get in trouble. I thought this scene was really well acted because I couldn't decide how I felt about it. Both of the characters are desperate in that moment and you want them to be together because that seems to make them happy. But then this happens and you worry that Terry doesn't understand what he has done, so if they get back together he might think it is fine to do it again. Return to the review.

Spoiler Paragraph for Birds of a Feather at Greenhouse Theater Center

I think the ending of the play is really bittersweet. Silo and Roy's relationship has ended but a new relationship breaking penguin norms (between Tango [Kirby, in this scene], who is Silo and Roy's daughter, and another female penguin) is just beginning. Silo and Roy were saying goodbye to each other, and Silo tells Roy about his new partner, Scrappy, and Roy assumes he is talking about another male penguin, but Silo reveals to him that Scrappy is a female penguin. And the exact same thing happens when Roy is talking to his daughter Tango. He presumes Tango's new partner is a male, but it turns out to be a female. It is really touching to see this coming-out moment meeting acceptance in this play that has been mostly about the struggle of being gay. In this moment you get to see the beauty of acceptance and love no matter what your sexuality is. And I'm sure it is really hard for Roy to hear the same words having different impacts on him from two penguins he loved. Roy and Silo's breakup breaks my heart. You have grown to love this relationship. You have seen it grow from the beginning to the end. You can't help but feel like Silo's reasoning might not be because of his own wants but because of what Pale Male has told him is masculine and right. And that makes me really angry to think that someone could be in a happy relationship if it wasn't for outside influences. Return to the review.

Spoiler Paragraph for Teatro Vista's The Madres

The last scene of the play was, in my opinion, the most powerful. It was really hard to see Carolina and Belén getting torn apart from each other. Carolina's reaction to figuring out that her plan to get her daughter back was not as foolproof as she thought it was, and just watching her break down, was so powerful. The actor did a great job at really showing how she was feeling at that exact moment; there was this moment where I saw her switch from being so happy to see her daughter to realizing it would be over in a few minutes. You see how desperate she is in that moment. And Josefina isn't sobbing, but you can still see how scared she is and how she feels like she has to be strong for her daughter. You see her make the decision to join with her daughter in dangerous protest because she sees the true evil of those holding her granddaughter captive. Those people have turned the neighbor boy Diego into a monster. It is scary how powerless everyone is over this one man, Diego, just because he feels entitled to control over these people's lives because he works for the government. There are all these very strong people in the room during this scene, but Diego has the most power because of the terrible people who have his back. Everyone else in the room wants to use their power for good and not just for power. I feel like this is insanely relevant now because many countries are run by people who don't think of their citizens' needs but instead of how they can have more power for themselves and be feared. Return to the review.

Spoiler Paragraph for Remy Bumppo Theatre Company's hang

The death penalty is a very prominent topic in this show. The entire point of 3's visit is to decide how she wants someone to be executed. I think it is very complicated because when someone has hurt you or your family, your instinct is probably to find a way to get revenge. You are on 3's side throughout the entire play, so you want her to get what she wants. It is hard to decide if the government is doing the right thing with bringing back the death penalty, though 3's desire for her assailant to suffer makes a lot of sense. When she is being told all the different options for his death, you can kind of see this new side of her that seems to be less scared, kind of like a burden has been lifted. I felt happy for her in that moment, but she seems to be getting revenge instead of justice. She is choosing hanging, a form of death that involves suffering for a long time before death. I feel like the government would need to think a little more about how her bias could affect his death. Even though he has done something very awful, I feel like the government should handle it so they don't place this difficult task on someone who has already had a bunch of very difficult things happen to them. And also there are so many options, and I think that there should be just one clear option so that it is obvious what to do. Making 3 decide is putting revenge into the judicial system which is about people going through a process to get what they deserve, not individuals getting revenge. Return to the review.

Spoiler Paragraph for Broken Nose Theatre's Kingdom

I thought the last scene between Malik and Alexander was so heartbreaking and so painful to watch because you could see how much these people loved each other and how they had a very deep connection but how they have to say goodbye. When Malik leaves, he gives Alexander his Super Bowl ring and he says something along the lines of he wishes he could have given him a different ring. And it was just so heartbreaking. The delivery of the line was amazing and they were both on the verge of tears. It was just a really beautiful and heart-wrenching scene. Return to the review.

Spoiler Paragraph for Hinter at Steep Theater

I have a lot of theories of who the killer might be. I think the least interesting possibility is that it was just a drifter who came by and said, “I think I’ll kill these people.” That is the inspector’s theory. It is the least interesting to me because it doesn’t connect to anybody who is a character in the story. Another theory that Elizabeth had was that it was ghosts, but there are so many things weird about that. What would their motivation be? There is no one we know about who is dead who would want revenge on this whole family, so it would have to be a random murderous ghost. My top two most likely and favorite suspects are Lorenz and Frieda. They both have motivation. Frieda’s motive would be money. She does try to go and grab the money whenever she is alone in the room. And also she really wants to go home all the time and is always talking about it. It is also a possibility that she just wants the money now that she knows Viktoria can’t use it anymore. She doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would put money before people, but she is also acting very suspiciously. Lorenz might want revenge for his rejection by Viktoria. He was also really mad at her dad for keeping them apart, which is another motive. It is not completely confirmed that he was there when the mattock (which was most likely the murder weapon) went missing from the barn, but it is a possibility. He also has anger management issues after the war, so if someone slightly ticked him off he might murder them, like he attacks Klara for standing behind him. He also might not even remember that he did it because of the trauma from the war. Return to the review.