"Smart, complex but overloaded...It’s an ambitious play with an impressive cast, but the choppily edited text needs the kinds of clarifying that the pared-down yet occasionally clunky staging doesn’t provide...What’s largely, sorely missing is the sound of that place. Not missing from Kamps’s script...but missing from Quinn’s production. In a play that’s as much about home and belonging as this one, what people sound like matters."
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"Overloaded though engaging examination of the American heartland...Kamps tenderly delineates his eight characters with biographical details, strong character traits and lots of conflict...Expressive dialogue...Less successful in crafting a compelling plot...All quite Chekhovian but lacking in finesse. The didactic elements and the personal revelations aren't well integrated...Nevertheless Quinn’s work with the cast results in a true sense of an ensemble with everyone connected and believable."
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"Ambitiously monumental in its scope...The entire ensemble is simply incredible. The ease with which the members of the cast connect, and the nuanced portrayal of each of their characters, charges this family saga with electrifying truth...Quinn tries his best to make his actors move and change the axis of the action throughout each scene, but the staging requires further polishing. The imperfections of it, however, don't obscure the overall quality of this timely play."
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"What makes the Chekhovian element so useful to Kamps is its tendency not to polarize good and evil or weakness and strength...Director Ryan Quinn has mounted the play imaginatively, on a deep, narrow, largely bare stage surrounded by audience on three sides. The cast is young and energetic. Not all the players are the ideal age for their characters, but they work well together and are, by and large, a talented lot."
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"Fascinating...An unblinking spontaneous combustion of drama...A searing, no-holds-barred saga of life in the real 'real America'...The violent plot twist may seem heavy handed...The performances of this young, energetic cast are superb...By the conclusion of Kamps' play–which is no less than stunning–we really care about what happens to these residents of Goose Creek, Wisconsin...More than a slice of life, consider this should-be classic play to be a slice of the new American pie."
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