“Watching the show is like flipping through a catalog of America’s dysfunctions and societal problems...Manning take pains to show the many sides of an issue...but his efforts to be evenhanded can err on the side of safety and often sap the show’s energy...The show is essentially an earnest prompter for conversations or school discussions...What may linger most, however, is not a provocative idea (there are none) but some of the performances."
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“A collection of nine one-act plays. It's a smorgasbord of cluelessness, insensitivity, casual racism, and outrage wielded like a club, and it's fresh enough to feel like it was written only a few hours ago. Some pieces rehearse familiar arguments...Other pieces have more original slants...Most of these situations could be further developed into longer plays, but, taken together, they offer a wide-angle view of life in these disunited states...Excellent work from the 15-strong company.”
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"Nine short plays that are mostly effective — and often quite potent — in exposing current societal rifts....Some entries are stronger than others. The most successful are those that take aim at the controversial material through carefully delineated characters and surprising revelations...The less successful playlets are those that forefront the issues rather than introduce fully drawn and compelling characters...Manning and company have proffered a Living Newspaper for the 21st century.”
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"Manning's direction and script are both expertly crafted. The play's moral questions are cleverly woven into each of its fully-dimensional characters' words, and their tales are often presented without bias, leaving the audience to draw its own conclusions. The actors find their full potential in this play, each one as compelling as the next, filling their portrayals with humor, earnestness and passion; they listen to each other in every moment and are a joy to watch."
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"Touches on so many timely issues that it runs the risk of feeling like a checklist of topics...So it's impressive that for the most part, Manning avoids the trap of writing a show that feels like an endless stream of 'important' issues...Though the pieces vary greatly in terms of plot, they feel of a whole, and the last scenes in each act parallel each other well...This is also the rare play that, while it feels written in response to Trump's America, doesn't hit you over the head with it."
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"Exceptionally well-acted, theatrically satisfying, and thematically pertinent…Most tend to be vignettes, highlighting a particular issue-racism, white privilege, and immigration...Young people engaged in naturalistic conversations that explore the fissions and contradictions roiling our social consciousness. None of the material is explosive but it's sufficiently thought-provoking, the dialogue sounds authentic, and a satirical undertone helps prompt more than a few laughs."
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“’Awake’ is a series of monologues and short scenes about the most relevant issues of our time...Manning is not giving any solutions he is just showcasing life and how these issues that otherwise seem like big words; impact our day to day lives...Each cast member brings nuances to their character that is pivotal in forwarding the story...’Awake’ does feel a bit long."
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“Manning is an incredibly honest playwright, simple and to the point in the best of ways. His imagination in creating the vignettes that compose 'Awake,' in exploring colossal issues of social justice...is deserving of praise...If each vignette is meant to tackle some monumental piece of American sin in 10 to 15 minutes what thread might tie the play together?...What results is a social justice potluck where neither dish, its place at the table justified, is served particularly well."
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