See it if You are a Ryan Haddad fan and want to open your mind to some of the challenges faced by queer people with disabilities.
Don't see it if You expect a traditional comedy. They are “dark” stories but with some comedic takes on them.
See it if You care about disability rights & enjoy seeing theatre pieces in which characters with disability are actually played by disabled people!
Don't see it if You don't care about disability rights, you're not willing to learn about the disability community & have a good laugh!
See it if You want to experience what theater does best: offer new perspectives and insights about life. Ryan Haddad has crafted a gem.
Don't see it if If you don't like thinking while watching.
See it if you want to see a great example of theatre that is accessible focusing on (mostly) one person's experience in an often inaccessible city.
Don't see it if you don't like monologue plays or you are uncomfortable with hearing about sex, or you're looking for a plot-driven action play. Read more
See it if you want to think about the unspoken rules of and the world we live in, enjoy edgy material (lots of sexual stuff), or like true stories
Don't see it if you want a straight play, dislike monologues or have homophobic or ableist tendencies (better yet, correct your bigotry then watch the play)
See it if You are interested how life is as a disabled person in NYC. Funny, touching, informative. Definitely a good night of theater.
Don't see it if Disability makes you uncomfortable
See it if You are interested in first person accounts of navigating the world with a disability. Appreciate accessibility in theatre.
Don't see it if Are offended by frank talk about bodily functions, sexuality, awkward situations. Read more
See it if You want a play w/heart makes u laugh & entertains while making u think about disabled people navigating life in an inaccessible world.
Don't see it if You prefer linear plot structure. You don’t enjoy plays dealing w/ disabled or queer people. You’re offended by explicit sexual descriptions Read more
CRITIC’S PICK: "Haddad - he will change the way you think about disability — and prompt you to think of accessibility as something that can deepen a dramatic experience when it’s built into the architecture of the piece."
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"The show does feel a bit short. Is it greedy to want a few more vignettes to let us spend more time with these dynamic performers? Here’s hoping these Stories are just Haddad’s first volume."
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“Jordan Fein’s skillful direction balances the laughter with a well-paced dosing of the grim truth — New York City, like the world, is not built for disabled people. Media often represents the disabled experience as monolithic, but ‘Dark Disabled Stories’ includes a variety of lenses.”
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" 'Dark Disabled Stories' offers a model of how to do theater better, in ways that are more accommodating, accessible, and accepting of all people and bodies."
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“You can check any sentimental notions at the door of this eye-opening, often hilarious, and sometimes scathing exercise…This collection of first-person accounts features surtitles, sign language by the Deaf actor Dickie Hearts, and audio description by Alejandra Ospina, who uses a wheelchair. Although most of Dark Disabled Stories is devoted to Haddad's pitiless stories of navigating the indifferent world of the abled, his co-stars weigh in, too, on everything from taking the subway to picking up a sexual partner; as they make blazingly clear, even the simplest activity can require considerable guts and nerve.”
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"Most of 'Dark Disabled Stories' ultimately centers on people not listening and not recognizing each other's humanity. The show depicts this vividly in a worthwhile 75 minutes in the theatre."
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“Haddad does have a gift for finding the light – the humor – lurking in the ‘dark.’”
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“The play is a compilation of humorous and honest stories about constantly confronting an obstacle, both physical and emotional, in a world not built to accommodate who you are.”
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