In the Wake

If you like allegorical personal struggles that act as a microcosm for hugely difficult issues facing our country and the world, you'll love this play. The dialogue is always gripping, and there are a lot of funny moments. Every character is completely rounded, and they each have a point of view that is perfectly and realistically in line with with who they are. It is worth reading a bit about Kron's intentions before actually reading the play. All in all, this play is a an incredibly well-thought-out, brilliant, and unsettling commentary on the way we (Americans) view ourselves and our country.

This play embodies everything that is wrong with American drama. once again the focus is the problems of rich white people and how they suffer. Politics, human rights, race, class are used as brain candy but the focus is always on how difficult romantic/family relationships are. Sex issues are far more important than everything else in the characters' lives. For sure there a biracial niece thrown into the mix for a few pages but the mention of race only distracts for about half a page. In short, the play is guilty of the same self absorption it thinks the country is - narcissism masquerading as courage.