The Great Novel

See it if you are open to exploring the complexities of race, unpaid emotional labor, love and the struggle to write your own story

Don't see it if you are uncomfortable with reckoning with your own biases.

See it if you’d like to see a very quirky but very sharp take on race & class in the US today.

Don't see it if you’re looking for a traditional play: This one is a rough but effective blend of farce & Brechtian epic theater.

Also The ride’s a bit rough. The ending is maybe a bit too sunny after all that’s happened. But I loved “The Great Novel” for its clear-eyed observations about race & class in America & unique mash-up of theater genres. This play sends up the American domestic drama: mom is dead, dad is a clueless patriarch, the adult son is an addict, the teen girl is experimenting sexually, the younger girl has a mystery illness. But the white family is played by a mixed-race cast in white face & the major character is the black maid, standing outside the family, making trenchant observations even as she’s struggling to write her novel about her employers because no one would care about her own struggles or Jamaican background. Because the white characters & their inane interactions are totally ridiculous, the piece often plays as laugh-out-loud farce. The wildness is held in check by a neo-Brechtian sequence of short, titled scenes that enable the playwright to make all her (very sharp) points.... Read more Read less

See it if you're interested in an exploration of the current conversation on race and who gets to tell their stories

Don't see it if you are looking for a light fluffy piece that doesn't go there

See it if you want to see a beautiful story about a woman finding her voice. Plus, great acting and design all around.

Don't see it if you are uncomfortable with white face (utilized by a diverse cast) or you prefer traditional storytelling.

Also This is the third show I've seen from Amina Henry, and I love her writing and unique perspective on storytelling. Her plays are theatrical with rich characters, and I always leave the theater lost in thought (in a very good way!) The Great Novel is no exception.... Read more Read less

See it if You like unconventional staging and performance of a straight play, enjoy stories involving family dynamics, enjoy strong acting

Don't see it if You need large productions and to be clearly aware of the time period in which the story is taking place, don't enjoy character-driven play

See it if you'd like to see a good play about a wealthy family and the hired nanny/maid who is mistreated by each of them as she seeks her chances.

Don't see it if you are bothered by characters that grate on you from the beginning to the end without an ounce of growth. 10 different scenes in 95 mins.

See it if you want to see a show that with a couple of tweaks could go from good to very good

Don't see it if you don't want to see a show with uneven acting that needs some work.

Also Mary Kathryn Kopp (Charlotte) shows significant growth from her quality performance in Hitler's Tasters. She seems to be an emerging star.

Nikki Walker as the protagonist (Bertha) and Madeline McCray (Granny) are both exceptional. The balance of the cast appeared to have not rehearsed enough.

Alyssa May Gold's job as Assistant Director indicated that I should continue my recommendation to follow her.

The white face is concerning until one realizes that Amina Henry is not using it as racial designation, but an indication of "whitewashed" lives. if the last scene was done with "Bertha" in whiteface it would significantly improve (but change) Henry's ending. I think my score would go up 9 if implemented.

A three point additional improvement may be merited with a two room set. Bertha's room should be on stage. The "sandwich board" indicators of scene changes are superfluous and should be eliminated.

Implementing the simple changes above causes the show to become very good.... Read more Read less

See it if you know what the terms “emotional labor” & “the magical negro” refer to. Up-to-the-minute thinking on longstanding literary/media tropes.

Don't see it if Feels longer than it is. Reducing the number of title cards from 10 to 3 might be all it needs to feel shorter. Grandma role unnecessary.

Also Pros: Articulates what’s inexpressible in the service dynamic & in what Bertha’s devalued coexistence w/ the Brennans costs her. Surprising validation of her shady retaliation (kind of like the red stapler theft in Office Space). Experimental whiteface. (For yrs of exclusive media control, white actors used blackface to mimic/demean blacks for entertainment. TGN’s multiracial cast in whiteface similarly apes white behavior to ghastliness.) Potentially deeply insulting, yet manifests how, without a near monopoly on media representation, whiteface fails to truly reciprocate the repercussive prejudice of blackface.

Cons: Kooky Old Grandma cliché reincarnates the magical negro that Bertha’s resisting. TGN rightly roasts the Brennans for projecting a devoted, self-denying mammy onto Bertha (who’s uncompensated for the emotional labor of reassuring them of their goodness/lovability). But Bertha does the same to her grandma—conveniently dead so her imagined Jamaican exoticism is uncontested.... Read more Read less

See it if Housekeeper dreams of writing a novel based on her Jamaican ancestry, the white (faced) family she serves, and the English books she’s read.

Don't see it if Uneven acting. Color blind casting. Confusing mix of reality, imagination, and ghost.

See it if you want to see an unperfect rich family story and how unaware they are of each other.

Don't see it if you want a well-developed journey. 1st hour is repetitive and needs cutting. The resolution is unsatisfying and predictable.

Also The premise seemed very promising - sadly the execution leaves a lot to be desired. The first hour+ is unnecessarily repetitive and needs cutting to bring the run time down.... Read more Read less

See it if you'd like to see a new play about family dynamics and racial relationships in the US; you want to support the creation of new dramas.

Don't see it if U dislike sterotyping;want to see a polished performance--I saw it the first night & there were too many flubbed lines.

Also Would a maid--or anyone else for that matter---love the father or 2 older children in this play? It wasn't realistic that Bertha would.

Maybe it's just yours truly & I'm not "woke" enough, but I disliked the "white face."... Read more Read less

See it if plays about aspirations great and small inspire you. All the characters want something that the others are not helping them to achieve.

Don't see it if whining self-involved characters depress you.

See it if You want to support some really great scenic and lighting designers.

Don't see it if The play struggles to find a tone or pace appropriate to it's message, we spend way too much time with characters we're not supposed to like

See it if If you want to see a show that needs major development. Not ready for prime time yet. Show takes to long to develop.

Don't see it if Lines missed, characters not good nor likeable. A story that focuses to much on characters we dislike.

See it if See this if you want to support a playwright working on a piece

Don't see it if Don’t see it if you are looking for a finished work

See it if topic has some small merit,

Don't see it if A very bad script.

See it if you like original storytelling and ambitious, thought-provoking plays. Terrific cast and production values for indie theater!

Don't see it if you prefer traditional theater/casting or would be offended by a diverse cast in white face.

See it if you want to see a dark comedy about race, class and a woman finding her identity. Relevant and important story for today

Don't see it if You're looking for a big musical, action or a romance story

See it if You want to see a new play that's funny and has a message. An important message.

Don't see it if You're looking for fluff.

See it if You are not put off by a poor performance and want to kill 90 minutes

Don't see it if You want good acting and an insightful script free from cliche. A lot of flubbed lines. A lot of lines that were poor to begin with.