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anneliehyatt's review against another edition
4.0
Ruhl's How to transcend a happy marriage is an exploration of polyamory as an alternative to the poisonous implications of the nuclear family. What is love, and how do we locate its meaning beyond the cliches of the present--those that so often bear romantic implications?
There is the pervasive belief in Western society that love can only exist in its highest and purest form when it is shared between two people. This belief has ossified the nuclear family's place in society, a system that is classist in its severance of people from a large community that can economically support them. When we choose to extend the family beyond two people--with terms such as godfather, godmother, best man, and maid of honor--we are limiting the types of love that can exist in a nuclear-family society, to ones that merely orbit an elevated relationship shared by two people.
This play is heartfelt and humorous, and I enjoyed reading it a lot. As I'm watching Friends right now, I am also thinking about how the possibility for long-lasting, healthy friend groups are so often torn apart by the possessive feelings of love that we display both romantically and platonically. There are times when the play is a little heavy-handed in its approach, and moments which seemed neither here nor there for me, but. It was fun!
There is the pervasive belief in Western society that love can only exist in its highest and purest form when it is shared between two people. This belief has ossified the nuclear family's place in society, a system that is classist in its severance of people from a large community that can economically support them. When we choose to extend the family beyond two people--with terms such as godfather, godmother, best man, and maid of honor--we are limiting the types of love that can exist in a nuclear-family society, to ones that merely orbit an elevated relationship shared by two people.
This play is heartfelt and humorous, and I enjoyed reading it a lot. As I'm watching Friends right now, I am also thinking about how the possibility for long-lasting, healthy friend groups are so often torn apart by the possessive feelings of love that we display both romantically and platonically. There are times when the play is a little heavy-handed in its approach, and moments which seemed neither here nor there for me, but. It was fun!
dexydoesthings's review
3.0
Love the concept and the references to The Ethical Slut, but didn't connect with this play as much as a lot of Ruhl's other work. Some really beautiful pieces of dialogue though!
platypusinrainboots's review against another edition
fast-paced
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Biphobia
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