Petie

See it if Shades of Tenn. Williams. Compelling madness in the values of a small town. So well written, acted, directed, even a kid couldn't spoil it.

Don't see it if You've had your fill of Southern Gothic and don't want to see another play about parents poisoning the minds of their children.

See it if Memory, mental illness, estranged relationships. Some comic relief. Difficult subjects excellently intertwined. great acting and writing

Don't see it if the subjects are too grim, especially the death of a child and guilt

See it if The few scenes with the girl's friend and her boyfriend are entertaining.

Don't see it if But the mom tells rambling stories about groceries and food wraps, the dad shouts all his lines, and story is repetitive. Slow at 1 hr45m.

See it if Incomplete memories, fractured relationships, struggle to move ahead. Need to confront the past. Women attracted to bad men. Comic relief.

Don't see it if You don't enjoy psychodrama where memory is an important element. Some disturbing, oppressive characters.

See it if you want to see an interesting, well written, beautifully acted play about a real family.

Don't see it if you want to see a happy play with a happy ending.

See it if want to see a great kid & other good acting

Don't see it if you can't stand the slow middle

See it if Want to see story of family after loss & how they tried to cope. Also, dysfunctional relationships, small-town life, beliefs in faith.

Don't see it if Want something light, don't like religious themes, story of sad lives, abusive situations. There's no neat bow-tying here.

Also This is a good drama and kept my interest, but it never quite jells and leaves much unresolved, but somewhat hopeful at the very end. It also didn't pack as much of an emotional punch as I would have expected. Some of the characters are one-dimensional, but the actors are all good. The writing and acting are stronger than the direction, with some awkward and somewhat odd staging choices.

However, it's a powerful piece and worth seeing.

Saw this at Urban Stages, beginning of October, 2017.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy plays that involve dysfunctional families, tragedy, lurking violence, small town life, fine acting and good dialog.

Don't see it if you dislike intense psychological content, sad and depressed characters, coping poorly with overwhelming problems.

See it if You want to see a play about a families loss and how they struggle with that loss. You want to see some great acting

Don't see it if You are uncomfortable with a play about loss, struggles and mental illness.

See it if Acting is good to very good (especially Emily Verda). Story had potential but...

Don't see it if Playwright threw a bunch of things in a blender and forgot to push start. Stereotypes. Lack of development. Cheap devices.

See it if You want to see great performances in a play that takes on mental illness.

Don't see it if You might be uncomfortable with the above or prefer something less serious.

See it if You appreciate great acting in a tragic family story where they all have problems--Think "Long Days Journey Into Night" for poor rural folks

Don't see it if A dramatic well-acted examination of a family tragedy would send you running for the exit.

See it if You want to see a cute kid on stage

Don't see it if You are looking for that drama that rips your heart out and takes you on an emotional roller coaster.

Also The first 10 mins, I was really excited. This had the makings of an Adam Rapp or Sam Shepard type play but it could not hold up. The acting, staging, lighting the space were fine. But the story didn't pack much of a punch. When you know what this play is about you will expect that great drama that punches you in the gut but this does not pack a punch. It's too bad because like the outline of this and it could have made for a great play.... Read more Read less

See it if You like good drama with great acting about dysfunctional people.

Don't see it if You want to see something light and cheery.

See it if very intense production of a play about mental illness as well as domestic violence.actors were simply marvelous.would highly recommend.

Don't see it if if you don't want to see a family in such turmoil.also contains abusive behavior to women as well.if you don't want to experience truth.

See it if you enjoy family drama surrounding a family death. Reminded me of the show Rectify.

Don't see it if you do not like religion in your plays. The exposition is very slow.

See it if A highly dramatic family story told with many flashbacks intrigues you. The playwright is also one of the actors and she is brilliant !

Don't see it if You are needing an intense family drama to come to a happy conclusion. This play does not, nor does it neatly tie up all loose ends.

Also I thoroughly enjoyed this very intense new drama. The characters felt real and kept my interest until the very end. The fact that the playwright is also a fine actress and has a lead role is a situation not often encountered in theatre. She reminds me very much of Meryl Streep and she is deserving of any and all accolades heaped upon her for her twin talents. The young boy who acts the role of her son did a terrific job with his role and has none of the affectations often found in child actors. I wish there had been a talk back I would have loved to listen to the cast discussing the play and each individual's contribution to the work.... Read more Read less

See it if You like shows that tackle serious matters with a good sense of humor. The writer (and actors) nail the accents and mannerisms perfectly.

Don't see it if You don’t want to see another dysfunctional family trying to work out their past trauma so they can move on with their lives.

See it if you like hard hitting family tragedy.

Don't see it if you are looking for a light and linear play.

See it if You are ready to witness the tragic results of fundamentalist religious indoctrination and if you want to see various mental illnesses depic

Don't see it if you want lighthearted entertainment

See it if you appreciate drama about relations of violent, controlling men w/ women who trust/enable them and of those women w/ smart independent one.

Don't see it if you do not tolerate violent drama about abusive, mentally ill men, G-d fearing Christian women devoted to/enabling those men, and redemption

Also Lori Fischer (Meryl Streep double in every positive sense) and Arielle Goldman are authentic and moving, experts in their craft.... Read more Read less

See it if you would enjoy a show that relies on flashbacks to explain the action; excellent acting; sad but hopeful resolution of family issues.

Don't see it if you need totally linear action to understand what's going on; you prefer comedy and musicals; you prefer to not see mental illness on stage

Also A moving and engaging premier of a new play; definitely will tighten up as previews continue; well worth your time.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see some great actors perform an intense but cliché script

Don't see it if you want to see a play that breaks new ground.

See it if you enjoy Southern dramas, you enjoy deep richly written characters, you love new work

Don't see it if you don't like darker material, you like fast paced storytelling

Also Here's the thing, this play could have been great. It has immense potential. Lori Fischer's writing is quite wonderful and her performance is one of the only one's that is fully connected and truthful so bravo to her for this accomplishment. The directing, however, does not seem to capture the essence of the world of the play; and quite frankly it seems too afraid to go to the dark places. Jesse unfortunately falls flat and doesn't present enough of a fight. Daddy and Petie seem more like general washes of characters than living breathing human beings. But, want to give a shout out to Emily Verla who played KM. She managed to make her character fully dimensional which is impressive considering it's a character that could easily be misread. Overall, the story is fascinating, but it just didn't quite reach the depth that it seems to promise it will.... Read more Read less

See it if You like an intimate setting, an intense drama and great acting. The story was captivating and overall it was great theater.

Don't see it if You want something light and funny