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Its also frequently excruciating.
They could be a theater company.
In fact, they are.
That was in 1980.
I just wanna vote on MORE.
A poster on the wall of the phys-ed-teachers lounge in which they gather reads BE POSITIVE.
Theres Stephanie Wright Thompsons Sandra, with her brisk straight talk and her always-full plastic travel mug.
My laughter had already dried up.
Heres the rub ofMiles for Mary: Its like watching an almost two-hour episode ofThe Office.
Its smart, its barbed, it revels in the wince-worthy, helplessly funny observation of human idiocy.
But theres a reasonThe Officeand shows of its ilk play out in 23-minute episodes.
I dont know why.
Neither Anyanwu nor Udofia cares about making Kalechinice, and thats both refreshing and admirable.
Yet even in its unevenness,The Homecoming Queendoes not feel slack.
The moments of pathos and brilliance just take a while to start coming.
Yes, I brought my meds…. Hey, how much money have I made you?
Thats what I thought.
As the play progresses, the What you better Know segments gain subtlety and nuance.
And, in a piece of beautiful irony from Anyanwu, its also the plays happiest.
The sunlight, the warmth, the sense of possibility all are a shock to the system.
Its a fiction, but its a powerful one.
Now, that ability to bring into life the thing thats not yet true might be her way forward.
It might be the source of her healing and the beginning, not the end, of her story.
Miles for Mary is atPlaywrights Horizons.The Homecoming Queenis at the Atlantic Theater Company.
