The Revolving Cycles Truly and Steadily Roll'd

See it if Loved it. Felt like an important experience to have. One of the best of the year so far. Really raw script and performances. So engrossing.

Don't see it if You don’t like very real scenes and rough language. Some challenging stuff for sure. Or if you want a traditional story.

See it if like new forms and black theatre that breaks boundaries.

Don't see it if you want to see black narratives done with a kitchen-sink realism motif.

See it if You are looking for a deep, intense play that revolves around racial and socioeconomic divisiveness in America. You want to feel something.

Don't see it if You want a light-hearted, funny show. This show is intense but really spoke to me. I was absorbed the entire time and absolutely loved it

See it if you like complicated, timely and electric work that is equal parts funny and thought-provoking

Don't see it if you don't want to think, or be engaged and only want pure "entertainment"

See it if for riveting, profound writing about the hard facts of life in racially torn communities that tell the inside story (good, bad and ugly)

Don't see it if you expect a happy ending or neatly packaged answers

Also This is bold and brave in every sense - writing, staging, casting, direction. If you are the "privileged" or the "disenfranchised" this work speaks volumes about life in many communities (worldwide) without pretending there are easy solutions. The cast is superb.... Read more Read less

See it if you like your theater relevant/topical/smart, you want a show that's a serious social commentary that has moments of humor, too

Don't see it if you want something totally light, you want something very traditional

Also Elements of this show reminded me of the recent production of Caryl Churchill's Light Shining in Buckinghamshire at New York Theatre Workshop, in a good way - the use of supertitles/section titles, the way it's very much an ensemble piece. This play has a modern setting, but it's also about social issues/equality or lack thereof/opportunity or lack thereof. From what I'd read about this play before seeing it, I was worried that it might be clunky or preachy, but I didn't think it was.... Read more Read less

See it if If you like a conceptional play with deeper meaning.

Don't see it if Minimum sets.

See it if Breaking the fourth wall and demanding audience engagement, a talented team of actors gives a vivid and disturbing performance.

Don't see it if You dislike experimental theatre. You want answers to questions and solutions to problems, but maybe raising awareness will help.

Also Consequences of broken homes, school drop out, drug use, unemployment, lack of opportunity, petty crime, police brutality, gang violence...... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy relevant issues presented in a creative, audience-interactive direction.

Don't see it if you don’t like stories dealing with current issues such as racism or if you’re easily offended by violence or cursing.

See it if you want some insight into the cycles of repression and incarceration that plague African American communities

Don't see it if you don't like direct address or audience participation

Also There are two main stories that happen in this show - one centering around a woman trying to find a lost foster brother, and one centering around a funeral home. The funeral home story involves a lot of direct address, which makes it feel disconnected from the foster brother story - the audience the night I was there didn't know how to respond. That said, the foster brother story is honest and engaging and heartbreaking and Kara Young as Karma is brilliant. But the two halves of the show didn't seem to fit together very well from a stylistic perspective so I left the theater feeling off. Maybe that was the point.... Read more Read less

See it if / for an inside, human look at the racial disparity we're living in now, and the toll it takes on all of us.

Don't see it if you want some escapism, or a comedy.

Also I felt like there were a some missed opportunities design and direction-wise, and also wished to be more engaged; although given the subject matter I did appreciate feeling at arm's length from it, I suppose. It never became as harrowing I felt like the play kept warning us it would be. The always-wonderful Kara Young knocks it out of the park as usual. Go to see her.... Read more Read less

See it if A new kind of theater with audience participation and extraordinary social relevance . Well acted and written.

Don't see it if Do not see if you prefer a light drama .

See it if Sibling searches for missing inner city youth (unseen) lost to the foster care system. Good performances with plenty of 4th-wall breakage.

Don't see it if Slurs, profanity, and violence. No curtain call, the actors were surprisingly on the street afterward. Actor tells audience the play is bad.

See it if you want a Brechtian take on racism in its various political and economic forms in modern (and past and future) America.

Don't see it if you dislike theatre that FORCES you to fully engage with the performance.

Also I still can't decide whether this is a subjectively good play, or a subjectively bad one. The intention here is crystal clear. Many of the characters are fascinating. The cast is certainly superb. Many of the theatrical and metatheatrical conventions it employs are effective and at times appropriately jarring. But it's certainly been put up in the wrong space and the production seems to have put money into the wrong elements such as the large proscenium, which wants to dramaturgically tie itself into the rest of the show but doesn't quite succeed. The playwright seems to be trying to tackle too many things at once here, offering both a micro and a macro view of the issues he wants to explore. The problem here is that he is successful in the micro and less so in the macro as that is where the play suffers the most. I don't understand New York theatre's aversion to properly handling guns on stage. Do it right, or don't do it at all. You're doing the play a disservice.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see a thought-provoking show with a great cast.

Don't see it if you don't like shows that delve deep into issues of race and class.

See it if you want to support a young playwright, and the work of a good theater company.

Don't see it if you don't like indulgent, insipid execution.

Also There is a good idea here, and a whiff of a story. It is wrapped in the worst possible staging that obfuscates with gimmickry, projections, direct address, and all manners of "Brechtian" devices that neither illuminates nor nudges us to think. For the most part, I kept thinking "what was that for?"... Read more Read less

See it if you are a human being in 21st century America and want to have a play resonate with you long after you have left the theatre.

Don't see it if you want to hide from issues of racism and poverty and the justice system and education system and the realities of getting by within it all

See it if I went to see new Yale graduate James Udom and was pleasantly surprised at the thought provoking work. It entertained with some clever humor

Don't see it if The play has a strong message. If you don’t have the stomach for real life - in your face racial discussion and art, then don’t go.

See it if you enjoy a powerfully acted, very theatrical story about the isolation of people navigating the system in poverty-stricken communities.

Don't see it if you're not a fan of a shattered fourth wall.

See it if you like to think at (and after) the theater, you appreciate a small ensemble of talented actors.

Don't see it if you don't want to confront the realities of society and your role in it, you are looking for a large, flashy production.

See it if You want to see a stunning piece of work that speaks volumes about the cycle of racism in our country without ever feeling preachy.

Don't see it if You’re a Republican...you need to see it but you’ll just call it fake news anyway.

See it if you want to experience a clear-eyed engagement in dramatic form of the daily life-&-death struggles some black neighborhoods face today.

Don't see it if confronting the consequences of institutionalized racism makes you queasy, or you are expecting a neat, well-made play.

Also I love this play & this production, the commitment, the free-wheeling form, the easy shift between drama & direct engagement with the audience, the way the staging commands the full space, the crew of fine actors, the rumbling efficiency of the moving set. I love the voice of the playwright & how he mostly steps aside & lets his characters enact their stories—or step out of them to interact with us. I loved how the piece took its full 2-hour-plus length to say in its scrupulous way what it set out to say. I see that many of my Show-Score colleagues feel very differently about this piece (though more recent reviews have been kinder). I can only judge the piece I saw. I hope you all get a chance to experience “The Revolving Cycles” for yourself—tickets are cheap! We face no more pressing issue today than the enduring inequalities & unspeakable violence that result from institutionalized racism. This piece puts the issue on full display in a thoughtful, ultimately devastating way.... Read more Read less

See it if You want to see talented actors tell a story of a particular African American experience. A play that cleverly subverts genre and stereotype

Don't see it if You prefer traditional play forms (they break the 4th wall frequently) or don’t want to see a show about relevant and difficult topics

Also The cast are all incredibly talented actors commited to their characters,both in and out of their scenes. They are led by the superb Kara Young. With the playwright’s clever writing, she switches between comedy, seriousness, and more with great skill. The story is naturally propelled by the search for Karma’s brother, and is aided by the increase and diffusion of tension created by the frequent but clever switches in genre/tone. Having read other reviews, I feel like the play is getting tighter with each run, and will surely have the full gripping impact expected by opening. The ending can be a bit more tight and tense (unless the goal is to make it a quick surprise and shift in tone) but still had an impact on the audience. Also, small note - I liked the artistic choice to not put the photo of Tyrel on the flyer (at least, I couldn’t see one).... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy relevant, thoughtful, well acting theatre

Don't see it if you enjoy fluffy theatre

See it if You want to be shaken outside your comfort zone by a truly original new play about the cyclical nature of poverty and oppression.

Don't see it if You prefer your theater staid and unchallenging.