To be sure, it's an attention-getting premise, albeit one weakened by an artificial dramatic structure that successively dispatches the supporting characters into the locker room for one-on-one debates with George. Also, his eve-of-the-game decision is a forced setup that makes George look naïve and grandiose, undermining his argument. But there's no question that the one-named playwright Sevan produces some crackling confrontations as George's supporters have at him, disabusing him of his illusions. And in Johanna McKeon's taut production, the battle of ideas is fully engaged, sparing none of the combatants.
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"With the arrival of Hana, the middle section of 'First Down' accomplishes what all the shouting fails to do, which is to connect heart-to-heart with the audience...This section of the play is beautifully written and acted, as it lays out the terrible price that is paid by so many immigrants to this country... There is no doubting that SEVAN is a powerful and decidedly passionate playwright with a great deal to say about Islamophobia in the United States. But if you want to change hearts and minds, tell George to stay home and send in Hana instead."
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The major flaw in Sevan’s play is that not one character points out the sources of Islamophobia. Sevan does have Berri recite a litany of Muslim victims of violence in a tirade toward the end of the play, but it is too little, too late. Some will feel the play does not go far enough in covering both sides of the issue.
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