"Character and atmosphere are the stronger elements...In matters of story and structure, it’s somewhat weaker...Any action, when it comes, seems halfhearted, if not superfluous. Mr. Hoyle’s larger scheme is to depict a neighborhood by showing why people go and how they stay. Mostly, he does this by letting his characters talk. If Mr. Hoyle lets his story get away from him, he presents warm, robust sketches of the neighborhood’s gutsy dwellers."
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“It's not the rather predictable narrative that makes ‘The Block’ so enjoyable; it's the highly colorful street lingo that Hoyle appropriates and reinvents in a manner that recalls the vivid - and largely made-up - slang used in the plays of Clifford Odets...Under Tamilla Woodard's direction, the conversation is always lively, often profane, and sometimes scathing...Even if it ambles a bit, I feel sure that it will have much to say to audiences around the city.”
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“An all-around tour de force, ‘The Block’ is a stark portrayal of the times at hand in the Bronx. Filled with interesting, thoughtful and sympathetic characters, this is a play that offers a harsh glimpse of some people’s realities. The characters of ‘The Block’ leave one with the sense that though the struggle seems absolutely insurmountable, every day is a new opportunity to escape the past as long as one holds onto that most sacred trait: hope.”
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"The beauty of Hoyle’s writing is that he incorporates no clichés into the multi-dimensional characters. They’re instantly recognizable and yet unpredictable. They’re certainly street-smart, but they’re also informed about things far beyond the block...Thanks to the utterly humane script, Willard’s savvy directing and the playing by a flawless cast, this writer’s 'Block' is completely convincing and completely successful."
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