"In this production, every member of the audience is also a member of a chorus...'Antigone in Ferguson,' specifically, is meant to open the door on the thoughts and feelings aroused by the shooting of the 18-year-old Mr. Brown...With force and focus, they unspooled the events that lead to Antigone’s being sentenced to death...It is the gospel chorus, though, reacting to confrontations among these characters, that viscerally lifts the play into timelessness."
Read more
"Doerries has given the cast a trim hour-long version...Behind them a tip-top band and a choir full of gospel powerhouses sings Phil Woodmore’s wonderful settings of Sophocles’ famous choruses...All is revealed in the crucial second half of the show, a panel and guided discussion...What almost never happens in postshow discussions starts to happen: The conversation retroactively infuses the reading we’ve just seen with more meaning, import, and complexity."
Read more
“The 2014 police shooting of Michael Brown inspired this exuberant concert-style presentation...Doerries’ proficient staging transforms it all into a novel, entertaining and emotionally charged experience...The cast changes weekly...The format is of the cast at music stands with scripts expressively reading...A structured discussion sequence which follows each show...This town hall section revealed some poignant and eloquent insights into topical issues.”
Read more
"The piece becomes a direct reaction to Michael Brown’s murder in 2014, a tragedy that feels inappropriately distant today...From the get go, the production makes it clear that it’s not entertainment, but a lens through which to examine how our reality is oversaturated with violence...If you are looking solely for entertainment (which is not to say this production lacks humor), 'Antigone In Ferguson' is not for you. But if you're open to it, you may well walk away a little more open."
Read more