"Ms. Sharp has written salty, period-appropriate dialogue, which finds a visual analogue in Karl Ruckdeschel’s costumes: all waistcoats, breeches and boots. (Her direction, however, often insists on prolonged shouting, and Mr. Carter’s persistent finger-pointing can be tiresome). Yet the divide between commerce and compassion is made abundantly clear, as is the deserved torment of these sailors, flailing in an inferno of moral retribution."
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"'The Vast Machine' could have been presented as a heart-thumping, emotionally-charged drama, but the playwright, who also directs, has opted to focus on the moral and ethical issues rather than developing fleshed-out characters, so that each of them represents a particular stance. This approach keeps us thinking about the truly terrible decision that must be made, and, it ought to make us question how we might act in a similar situation and the price we would have to pay regardless of what we decide."
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"'The Vast Machine' provides a fascinating look into an industry that changed the course and the nature of America and, indeed, the entire Western world. Each of its characters is distinct, wrestling with his own demons...The irony of the fact that we are, once again, examining race slavery from the point of view of (mostly) white characters is hard to ignore. However, that very irony is what makes the play such an uncomfortable and therefore effective experience."
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