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ohclaire's review against another edition
5.0
stunning. love the language and the theatricality of it, & it doesn't help that I got to see a beautiful production before reading
saidtheraven's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty different than any other play I had read but I loved the way it was written. Very lyrical and poetic and it brought so many things into the conversation. Makes me want to read more of her works. :)
Might lengthen this review later~
Might lengthen this review later~
allygator's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
englishmadeline8's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
crushhaver's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
skeletor_nyaaaa's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I rarely rate anything so low, but I honestly couldn’t stand this play. I’ll start with what I liked and then get mean:
I think the production aspects are really clever! The jazz aspect of it and how the characters speak at the same time to show the kind of cycle Grise is talking about were interesting and clever.
I also liked the references to mythology, I had to do some extra reading to understand the references and I liked that.
HOWEVER, I have to ask… what are those references doing? I feel like this play has many many themes, but it doesn’t really say anything about any of them. It’s about the cycle of violence, machismo, sexuality, family, etc. sure, but what does it have to say about any of those things?
I also found it frustrating that there’s seemingly no thought for the people that Blu is sent to kill when he joins the military. Killing nameless, faceless Arabs is par for the course in most Western-made media, but I honestly really expected better from this play and this writer!!!! We get this whole play that humanizes marginalized people caught up in a terrible cycle of violence imposed upon them by oppressive forces, and then our titular character joins those oppressive forces—which would be fine on its own, except that there’s no acknowledgment that the exact same thing affects people in the Middle East….
I think the production aspects are really clever! The jazz aspect of it and how the characters speak at the same time to show the kind of cycle Grise is talking about were interesting and clever.
I also liked the references to mythology, I had to do some extra reading to understand the references and I liked that.
HOWEVER, I have to ask… what are those references doing? I feel like this play has many many themes, but it doesn’t really say anything about any of them. It’s about the cycle of violence, machismo, sexuality, family, etc. sure, but what does it have to say about any of those things?
I also found it frustrating that there’s seemingly no thought for the people that Blu is sent to kill when he joins the military. Killing nameless, faceless Arabs is par for the course in most Western-made media, but I honestly really expected better from this play and this writer!!!! We get this whole play that humanizes marginalized people caught up in a terrible cycle of violence imposed upon them by oppressive forces, and then our titular character joins those oppressive forces—which would be fine on its own, except that there’s no acknowledgment that the exact same thing affects people in the Middle East….
amburrella's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
sailorneptune's review against another edition
5.0
BEAUTIFUL. Moving. Compelling. I read it in one sitting, and grateful the always amazing Professor Jennifer Flores Sternad assigned this to me for my very first Latine Studies class, in Spring of 2015.
vasucrews's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
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