Fireflies

See it if you're interested in race relations in South 1963. Preacher and his wife struggle as world blows up. Fine acting can't save unfocused script

Don't see it if you dislike crazy veering from funny to tragic. There's material for 5 plays in 90 mins. Focusing on 1-2 issues w have been more effective.

See it if If you want a show that goes in all directions. One that goes deep into melodrama.

Don't see it if You want a show that stays focused on what the story is about. This one goes from Gay Blacks to abortion, misogyny, a lot of other subjects.

See it if you enjoy a taut drama about civil rights and human relationships.

Don't see it if you expect to see a drama about civil rights movement. The story gets high jacked by failed relationship plots in the middle of the play.

Also I was so disappointed in this play. The start of the play and setting were very promising. The ending is very powerful but the larger middle part of the play gets involved in the two actors' failed personal relationships which really takes your attention from the more powerful plot of the civil rights movement. This play could have been so much better than it was.... Read more Read less

See it if and only you are dying to see Donja R. Loves's latest creation.

Don't see it if a surprisingly BENIGN play would leave you scratching you head after sitting through it for more than two hours.

Also I am happy over the idea that a black playwright is getting his play produced by a major New York Theater company, but I wished that the theater company had chosen one of his other more interesting plays to add to its theater season. SNAP!!!... Read more Read less

See it if You want to see two good actors give great performances in an otherwise undistinguished play

Don't see it if you don't like plays of 90 min with no intermission

See it if you want to see fine acting by Khris Davis (a sinner-evangelist-preacher) & Dewanda Wise as a conflicted wife who imagines she hears bombing

Don't see it if you're wary of plays that check all the boxes: Civil Rights, adultery, abortion, misogyny, alcoholism, FBI spying, lesbians, psychosis, race

Also The real subject HYPOCRISY is deliberately avoided while the playwright dances around the less interesting melodrama of a marriage stuffed with secrets.

The vicious Sep't 1963 terrorist attack known as "the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing" [mentioned in the plot summary] may have been the inspiration for "Fireflies" but the play's issues veer off in a dozen directions. It becomes a patchwork of missed potential: infidelity, alcoholism, abortion, the civil rights movement, and a mentally unstable wife whose one-sided correspondence with a dead woman, a "fantasy lover" met only once, inspires her husband's jealousy. Nothing is resolved.

Though the Playbill states the place is "somewhere down South, where the sky is on fire," 75 minutes in Charles will tell Olivia he is worried about her mental state because she is only IMAGINING the bombings. What?

Two excellent actors tried their best with an unfocused script. I felt disappointed.... Read more Read less

See it if You want to see the continuation of the first “love play.” The acting is great and the staging is great.

Don't see it if You don’t like plays set during the segregation era.

Also I was disappointed in this show while the staging was great and the acting was A+ the story felt forced and pieces together quickly. I was a HUGE fan of the first “Love Play” Sugar in Our Wounds, so I was looking forward to this one. Unfortunately I felt let down with this play.... Read more Read less

See it if you wish to suppprt an Afro-Queer playwright.

Don't see it if you bristle at overstuffed scripts: racism, abortion, infidelity, alcoholism, domestic violence, lesbianism & mental illness in 90mins? Oye!

See it if You wanna see phenomenal performances.

Don't see it if You don't like melodrama.

Also I appreciate the effort to reimagine love throughout history but I feel like the play trades truthful struggles with queerness/monogamy for outsized plot points.... Read more Read less

See it if you are into traditional theater and don't mind 2 actors plays. if you like to have messages spoon fed. if you care about social issues

Don't see it if you want something very original, modern and though provoking. The play is stuffed with way too many topics - if not cliches

Also race, gender, sex, violence, abortion, rape, terrorism, addiction..... Way too many aspects crowded in one play. A cliched psychodrama set in an interesting social and historical context... Read more Read less

See it if if you like exploration about the Jim Crow South, but from the wife's perspective. if you like Harlem preaching in a play.

Don't see it if if you like a tight story; if bothered by gunshot sounds; if you may think the play was staged more for being #BLM than its script.

Also Brave - and apparently more realistic than previously known - and multi-faceted reveal on MLK's character and flaws.... Read more Read less

See it if You enjoy unique historical dramas and 2-person shows with a heavy emphasis on acting. You like pretty people onstage.

Don't see it if You then need very experienced actors who can handle a 2-hander.

Also The writer does a great job of creating a unique insight into this time period. The PTSD the main characters experiences feels emblematic of current race relations. However, the play just doesn't quite feel ready enough. Huge leaps in logic occur resulting in something closer to melodrama. Also, with such a demanding piece, you need very experienced theater actors. Unfortunately, they chose two lovely actors who don't seem to have enough theater chops to do these roles justice. For example, the female lead does not fluctuate her tone throughout the entire play. The physicality in the end also belies their experience levels amounting to near-comedy. I do commend the production for what it's trying to do, even though it never quite does it.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy shows about the African-American experience, particularly during the Civil Rights era.

Don't see it if issues of infidelity, abortion, rape, lesbianism, domestic abuse, and Civil Rights seem like a lot to cover in 90 minutes. (It is.)

See it if You would be interested in an intimate play reflecting a feminist take on elements of the civil rights era.

Don't see it if You prefer not to see all the gears working as myriad elements are woven into the plot to cover all the playwrights interests.

See it if Exploration of identity and purpose set against civil rights violence and its impact on a marriage;great actors but play takes on too much

Don't see it if Slow and meandering among two many themes which affects pacing; two actors however are terrific amidst sometimes stock treatment of themes

See it if you want to see a dialog between a man and a woman about what each means to the other. Topics include race, gender and sexual preference.

Don't see it if you are easily offended by any of the above topics.

See it if you want to see two phenomenal actors and can forgive a plot that takes on too many narrative twists and turns.

Don't see it if you want resonant well developed plot lines, you don't like melodrama or racially charged, or sexual identity themes.

Also The two actors are wonderfully talented, incredibly committed to this piece, and throw themselves headlong into the multitude plot devices they have to navigate. The narrative switchbacks happen often enough that they begin to pile on top of each other leaving no room for deep exploration of any of them. So at times the piece plays like a soap opera, and the often static and receptive staging doesn't help push through. The play's success lies heavily on the actor's shoulder, and it is their talent that carries it through to the end.... Read more Read less

See it if You want to see every cliche and plot line ever written, however, excellent acting

Don't see it if You are looking for good writing and plot

Also This play tried to do way too much and turns serious subject matter into so much cliche that it became absurd. The acting was excellent, though, which is the only reason I did not give it a worse review.... Read more Read less

See it if You like good acting of two great actors who do magic on the stage.

Don't see it if If you don’t like when play has too much in it, confusing to figure out what is main reason for this play to be written.