Recently Vermont Stage learned it won a bid to stage Fun Home, the Tony-Winning musical based off Vermont Cartoonist Laureate Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel of the same title. The musical, which tells the story of Bechdel’s coming out and her father’s struggle facing his own sexuality, is a significant undertaking for Vermont Stage. Artistic Director Cristina Alicea and Fun Home Director Robin Fawcett answered questions via email about the production.

What drew you to Fun Home in the first place?

Cristina: I think, like many Vermonters, I had been watching Fun Home’s trajectory in awe since it first premiered at the Public Theater. The fact that Fun Home was based on a fellow Vermonter’s work immediately drew my attention, especially since that work happened to be Alison Bechdel’s popular graphic novel of the same name. From the outset, Fun Home came across as the “little show that could,” so when it became a big hit that transferred to Broadway and then won the Tony for Best New Musical, it was such a wonderful surprise. It definitely got me fantasizing about doing the show here someday. I just had no idea how quickly someday would come.
 
Robin: For me, deliberation is part of taking on any new directing project. Am I excited by the work? Is it a fit? Does it pose fresh challenges? Then out of the blue this spring, Cristina called to ask if I would direct Fun Home for Vermont Stage. And there was no deliberation. I had read, in awe, Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel the year it was released. I revered the book in all its artistry, deceptive simplicity, courageous exploration of a life, and themes to which I relate in the universal and particular. Now, as I take apart the play to reassemble it for production, my sense of excitement is only reinforced by the masterful work of Lisa Kron (book and lyrics) and Jeanine Tsori (music). What an honor.
 
Rights for Fun Home are competitive. Do you have any insight as to why this particular production was given the green light?

Cristina: I still don’t know for sure why Vermont Stage was given the green light, especially since the National Tour is still running, but I have my assumptions. The licensing company asked if we still wanted to do the show and I immediately said yes. They said they would check in with the tour to see if they were comfortable letting us do it. I asked if the National Tour planning on coming here and they said it wasn’t likely, so the only way that Vermonters were going to get to see Fun Home was if Vermont Stage decided to produce it. Vermont Stage is also the only year-round, professional producing company in the area so we often get first choice on popular new titles.
 
What does it mean to bring Fun Home to creator Alison Bechdel’s home state? Is Bechdel involved at all?
Cristina: It is an incredible honor to be the first theater to bring Fun Home “home.” This show has felt special ever since I started telling people that we were doing it. The reactions I have gotten from our audiences have been inspiring. This show means a lot to people here because of the Vermont ties and because of the subject matter. Bechdel knows we are doing the show and plans to help in whatever way she can to make the show a success. We have a beautiful, incredibly talented, cast. I am certain our production will do justice to the author’s intent. I can’t wait for her to see it.
 
Is producing Fun Home different from producing a typical Vermont Stage play? How?
Cristina: Absolutely. The logistics of producing a musical is the major challenge. This is the biggest show we have ever produced. We have to hire an orchestra and a music director and many other additional staff members just to get the show off the ground. However, with that challenge comes so much more room for collaboration, which is exciting and rewarding. Certainly the pride we will feel once we see the audiences’ reactions to the show will have been worth all of the extra time, resources, and energy.
 
What’s the casting process like?
Robin: The usual prerequisites for casting a musical include seeking actors who can impressively fulfill the acting-singing-movement demands of each role, believably play the characters and relationships, while supporting a directorial vision. In addition to this, Fun Home provides several unique challenges for casting its nine roles: finding one actor who can deftly play four distinct characters; five actors who can believably play a family with biologically related children ages six, eleven, and nine; and two additional actors who appear to be grown up versions of the nine-year-old at ages 18 and 43.
 
Due to the play’s size, did Vermont Stage consider moving to the Flynn MainStage?
Cristina: We did talk and think about this a lot before deciding to do the show in FlynnSpace. Ultimately, we felt that FlynnSpace is a better fit for the show. Fun Home was produced in the round on Broadway at Circle in the Square, which is a relatively intimate theater. The show benefits from that intimacy, given that it is such a personal story set primarily in Bechdel’s childhood home. We also pride ourselves on the impact that our plays have on our audiences, due, in part, by the immediacy and intimacy that producing plays in a small venue can breed. We didn’t want Fun Home’s potency to get diluted by the vastness of the MainStage.

What are some of the greatest challenges in adapting a show as large as Fun Home to a small–scale production? How are you meeting them?
Robin: It’s true that this is a large undertaking for Vermont Stage with its cast of nine, orchestra of six, and 26 scenes in roughly 15 locations, to be produced in the snug black box of FlynnSpace. Yet, I can’t imagine better challenges or a play that more pointedly invites and helps in meeting them. Because Fun Home unfolds from the perspective of an artist’s memory at work, realizing the play begs for innovative, fluid, answers to its puzzles. Given the “director’s vision” has (as of this interview) yet to be interpreted and rendered by the design team, I’ll pause at that.
 
Why do you think Fun Home, which includes some pretty dark subjects, resonates with audiences?
Robin: Where to begin? The truth of it. The unabashed story telling style. Its musical mix of frolic and frankness. Its bold look at death and ultimate celebration of life. The refreshing ways it gives us time to reflect and deepen our understanding of what it means to be human, to love, be in a relationship, have family, make choices, succumb to fear, and be courageous. As Bechdel’s graphic novel is a vivid illustration of this adage by James Joyce--“In the particular is contained the universal”—so too is the musical version, particular and oh so universal. Because of this, Fun Home skillfully, playfully, wakes us up and resonates.

Reprinted from Flynn Center's blog.

How would you describe 'Annie'?

Annie is smart, caring, and imperfect. Throughout the play, we witness her navigating many new circumstances.  I imagine her as a novice hurdler.  She sprints towards each obstacle and makes her best attempt to clear it.  Sometimes she makes the leap with grace but more often she stumbles, scrapes her knees, and hurts innocent bystanders such as her friends and her husband.
 
Are there any connections that you see between you and your character?

I also imagine myself as a novice hurdler whenever I try something new or scary.  And fumbles, skinned knees, and failures remind me I (thankfully) still have much to learn in this life.
 
Annie and I also share a love of cooking.  I think we both show our affection for people by cooking for them.  My husband is fond of saying “Thanks for loving me with food.”
 
What do you like most about this play?

The playwright Tanya Barfield has an ability to capture very realistic dialogue.  Characters stop speaking mid sentence, they finish others’ thoughts, and often use non-sequiturs.  As you can imagine, this makes line memorization a beautiful challenge.  The actors in this cast do an amazing job of breathing life into the dialogue, while deftly moving from dramatic to comedic moments.
 
Rehearsing this play brings me great joy and angst. Layered throughout the script are themes of identity, privilege, racism, and motherhood. Its impact on me extends far beyond the rehearsal room.
 
Do you have a favorite line?

“You want a child from Africa but you do not want Africa.”
 
How would you describe the play to our audience?

The Call is a comedy with dramatic moments (or a drama with comedic moments)  about friendship, marriage, and parenthood.  The Call also offers a feast for your senses.  There is food or drink in nearly every scene!  And even though you might be able to smell the delicious mango coulis, please keep your hands off the actors’ plates.
 
What would you like them to leave thinking or talking about?

I hope audience members talk about any of the play’s themes and events with their friends, families, and neighbors.  I hope this play prompts discussions long after people have left the theater.

How would you describe your character?
Drea is like a ball park frank but with Grey Poupon artisanal cheese on top.

Are there any connections that you see between you and your character?
Absolutely! Drea's an artist. I'm an artist. She likes sophisticated women. I love sophisticated women. Drea also seems to have a natural curiosity about the world and people around her and isn't afraid to ask questions. I value this quality in others as well as myself. What would this world be if we lost our curiosity... our desire to investigate? Pretty boring if you ask me!

What do you like most about this play? Do you have a favorite line?
I like the fact that there are no easy answers in The Call. Tanya Barfield doesn't allow the conflict to be packaged nicely and wrapped up with a pretty bow. The characters are messy, vulnerable and complex. Sometimes contradictory. I also appreciate that the dialogue is written in a way that we actually speak in "real life". In the real world we don't always finish our sentences. Sometimes we use our hands, face or body language in lieu of actual words. We also don't always politely wait for others to stop speaking before we chime in with our own thoughts. The playwright has made a clear point of writing in an overlapping rhythm with regards to the dialogue and it's also very clear in those moments when the dialogue does not overlap. Tanya's like a jazz musician in this way. Guiding our attention with rhythm. This technique, coupled with the unconventional alleyway staging will help create an intimacy that will bring the audience into the milieu of these characters' story in a way that feels real and voyeuristic.

Favorite line is when Alemu says with regards to Africa, "The continent, not the country. (He laughs) Humor: it doesn't translate."

And then again later when Alemu says, "Ah. It's 'for Africa,' the entire continent." These lines are brilliant and Tino delivers them brilliantly!

How would you describe the play to our audience?
The Call is an honest glimpse into a couple's journey through the not so warm and fuzzy process of adoption and what happens when people stop being polite and start confronting their own desires, insecurities and basic need to contribute SOMETHING good to the world.

What would you like them to leave thinking or talking about?
It would just be nice if folks are talking and or thinking. I believe that's the responsibility of storytelling. Not to tell the audience WHAT to think about or how to think about it. Just to get them thinking. Maybe spark new dialogue that they didn't have the desire or even courage to have before. I also hope they leave the theater thinking "Boy, that Jammie Patton was really good!" That is my hope for the entire production. I feel pretty good about my hopes. This team is rocking! 😊

How would you describe your character? 
'Alemu' is a very complicated character. He is carrying with him quite a lot of baggage from his youth growing up in Africa (the continent, not the country!). He however, needs to exorcise these demons while also navigating the social norms that we take for granted here in America.

Are there any connections that you see between you and your character?
Yes. I see a lot of connections between myself and my character. I too grew up in Africa, Zimbabwe to be precise, but the struggles of an immigrant knows no borders. From navigating being in a foreign country (where people drive on the wrong side of the road or the toilet water spins in the opposite direction), to language and cultural barriers, to simple social norms like knowing what might be everyday practice between immigrants, might be completely unheard of by someone who has never left the country - the list is endless. I am also deeply touched by the AIDS pandemic that has swept across the continent and agree and empathize with my character about the stigma that many here in the U.S. incorrectly assume the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa is primarily because of promiscuity. I also feel for the character, because so many times I have found opportunities to make positive contributions to "the people in my heart" (back home), but so often, my help has been through a proxy.

What do you like most about this play? Do you have a favorite line?
I like the fact that the play unashamedly addresses some really big societal topics, like AIDS, adoption, homosexuality, friendship, multi-cultural issues and issues of race (or maybe I should say, issues of heritage/culture - because there is only ONE race ... the human race). Also, I like the way Annie grapples with the decision to adopt - it's realistic, because we all struggle with big decisions and question whether we are really doing the right thing and look to the affirmation of friends and the advice of strangers to help us along the way.

My favorite line is "Yes. Yes. You must pick up the poop" ... in the context of the scene, it's just funny and awkward and fits perfectly with the odd character that I play.

How would you describe the play to our audience?
The play is about a White American couple that plans to adopt a child and when their initial plan fails, they decide to adopt a child from Africa. They have a a lot of hangups about whether they are doing the right thing, if they will be good parents, and how they will function as a "cross-cultural" family and it takes the intervention of their peculiar neighbor to convince them (in his own special way) that they are doing the right thing.

What would you like them to leave thinking or talking about?
There is so much to take away from this play. Despite the serious nature of the subject matter, it is also a comedy. So while I hope people walk away with the following thoughts, I also hope that they can get some good belly laughs in there as well.

• The challenges of conception and adoption
• Social consciousness   
• The role of Cultural Identity 
  • African American culture
  • African culture
  • White culture
  • American culture
    

I’d like to begin by asking you to talk about your choice of title. It sounds as if you intended to have the word “call” operate on more than one level.
 
Every adoptive parent waits anxiously for the call letting them know that they have been matched with a child. So, on the most basic level, that is what “the call” refers to. The other call in the play is the “deeper calling” or the “call to courage.”
 
Was there any specific experience that was a catalyst for the play?
 
A friend of mine went through severe postpartum depression. I wondered if the whole thing was entirely hormonal – or was there a psychological component too? And, if so, you don’t have to have given birth to experience it.
 
You’ve said that you didn’t want to write this play and that it is very personal and close to you. When writing a play whose situations overlap your own experiences to some degree, do you worry about the play being perceived as autobiographical?
 
Most of my plays deal with issues or topics that I either (a) think will make a terrible play or (b) am afraid to write because they feel too personal. Usually, both. In all cases, I never end up writing autobiography because fiction is so much more dramatically compelling than my real life – and after living my life once, I don’t feel the need to re-live it in story. But, there is often a seed of personal experience in what I write about. I wrote The Call after adopting two children. People almost always think my plays are MUCH more autobiographical than they are. This used to frustrate me because I couldn’t actually get credit for the storytelling. But, now, I just take it as a compliment.
 
Things have and are changing very rapidly in regards to some of the subjects that your play engages. Do you feel as if it will retain its power and relevance in five or ten years?
 
More than anything, the play is about a couple at a crossroad. When writing, I’m not concerned with the story’s contemporary details. What interests me are relationships and the ways in which we navigate “being with each other” over time.
 
You’ve spoken about how this play is different from your previous plays, in which you have written about “the African-American experience through history” while The Call is a “contemporary play.” Do you think you will write more “contemporary” plays?
 
My most recent play, Bright Half Life, is also contemporary. It’s very different than The Call. It’s a two-hander and structurally non-linear. It’s my most intimate play. I try not to repeat myself too much when writing. I don’t want to write the same story over and over. I try to challenge myself by finding new ways to explore resonant material.
 
You have spoken about the writing of this play breaking a block you were experiencing.
 
I tend to go through periods of writer’s block as I’m figuring out what’s next. Sometimes the block is quite brief and sometimes longer. Certainly, after becoming a parent, I had to reinvent myself as a writer. On a very practical level, I had very little time to write. I wrote The Call between 4am and 6am (before the kids woke up and before I went to my day job). I also found myself drawn to different themes: marriage, parenthood, midlife, etc.
 
A play like this will resonate very personally with many in the audience. Have there been any responses you have received from audience members that have been particularly meaningful to or memorable for you?
 
All responses are meaningful to me. I have been particularly struck by the high school teenage groups that saw the play. The fact that they found it moving and engaging meant a lot to me.
 
Do you ever have an impulse to revise a finished, even published, script after you have seen other productions of it?
 
Barfield: Yes, I always want to revise my plays after they are produced or published. Theatre is a living, breathing thing. It never feels done to me. So, in some ways, I don’t enjoy seeing my work after it opens because I always find things I want to rewrite. I change the script all through previews. With the NYC production, we had a very long preview period and I brought in new pages every day. The actors had to learn new lines in the afternoon and perform them that evening. So, audiences that saw the play during early previews saw a different play than those that saw it after opening.
 
How has parenthood changed you as a writer, as an artist?
 
I think I’m a better writer post-parenthood. The breadth of my life experience has grown, life has more intrinsic value to me, I’m less “me” focused. As a parent, life is joyful and painful in a very different way.
 
You describe one of the play’s concerns (“doubt surrounding motherhood”) as a taboo subject. Could you talk a little about the importance, in theatre in particular, of engaging difficult or taboo material?
 
I tend to think of the best plays as inherently boundary-pushing and confessional in nature. Even comedies. That’s why so many farces are about infidelity or secrets. We go to theatre not to see everyday as it is. We go for two hours or so to see very high moments or very low moments (the most pivotal moments) of a character’s entire life. If we’re not seeing something that’s on the edge of our comfort zone, we’re usually bored. At least, I am. I’m not saying that I like shock-value plays for shock’s sake. I mean that I like stories in which characters are trying to balance on a precipice – any minute they could fall.


Interview reprinted from DC Theatre Scene, 2015.

You starred in our production of SHIRLEY VALENTINE and took on a huge responsibility in that solo show. What’s it like taking on a role that massive again?

Well, let me first say that I am honored to have the opportunity to bring Vivienne to life. Also, not having to cook an entire supper on stage (as Shirley did) is a big change for this go-round!

But this is not a one-woman play. It is a beautifully unique, layered ensemble piece where one person does a lot of the talking.

How do you prep for a role like this one?

I prepped for this role pretty much like I do for every role…it just took longer. First, I read through the script several times and discovered as much about Vivienne, her family, and her relationships as I could just from the text.

I did some research and talked to medical professionals, care givers, and family members dealing with Alzheimer’s.

Then, of course, I spent a couple of months before rehearsals began pounding the lines into my aging brain. This is important because the real work of rehearsal—the discovery of the character, the relationships, and the story--can’t happen with a script in hand.

And the rehearsal process was amazing. This play has become something entirely different—larger, more engaging, and more delightful—than I ever expected. And that’s thanks to Jordan’s vision and Sarah and Nick’s joyful creativity.

What is Vivienne all about? How would you describe her as a person? Any particular insights as you begin this process?

Vivienne is “all that.” She’s bright and articulate, efficient and effective, and used to being in control of her life.She’s loving, creative and a problem-solver. The conflict revealed by the play is her sudden inability to predict, to solve, to control this significant obstacle in her life.

But that’s not all.She also loves her mother, and she’s losing her. And, despite the anguish and anxiety and anger that come in turns, she’s trying desperately to keep on smiling.

What do you like most about this play?

I love Vivienne’s sense of humor that is revealed through her story telling, her loving commitment to family—I just really like her as a person. I also love the idea of using creative myth-making as a coping or healing process.

How would you to describe this play to our audience?

The script is lovely, articulate and creative. But the script is not all. There are layers of story “telling” that are multi-dimensional, that will engage you in unexpected ways…and will leave you smiling through (just a few) tears.

What would you like them to leave thinking/ talking about?

I’m guessing that we’ll have many audience members for whom Vivienne’s story is familiar—who may be currently coping with some of these same challenges.I’d like them to leave feeling heard and understood, and determined to be kind to themselves.

I’d also like them to pat themselves on the back for supporting Vermont Stage’s commitment to new playwrights!

How would you describe your character? Any particular insights as you begin this process?

Gray Mole is blind. And he loves to burrow. He has an incredible ability to sense the world around him and a lyrical way of describing it. He can be extremely shy at first, but eventually warms to his surroundings.

How do you prep for a role like this one or roles you have played in general?

I always start with research. And I must say, this role has been especially fun to unearth. I have read a great deal about this tiny, velvety insectivorous mammal. Thanks to Fletcher Free Library, Google, and YouTube, I am well-versed in this fascinating fur ball. Videos have proven to be particularly effective when exploring the shape, gesture, movement, and rhythm of this character. I am aware that I will not fully uncover Gray Mole in books and Google searches, however, I find that research gives me a rich foundation of specificity from which to build the character. The more vivid the palate, the more vivid portrait.

What do you like most about this play? Like least?

Blackberry Winter is not a true story, but one that is truthful. It is fearless in its language and singular in its telling. I admire plays that don't look or feel like anything I've ever seen before.  

I confess that I did not like the way this play ended when I read it. It felt incomplete. I wanted more. But, as any thespian knows, a play is not meant to be read, but to be performed. I finally saw the last scene performed by the brilliant Karen Lefkoe at the end our first week, and it took my breath away. Now, I get it.

How would you to describe this play to our audience? Thematic elements? Style, etc.?

It's a one-woman-show plus. The White Egret and Gray Mole are merely players in Vivienne's world. In terms of its tone, this play is unabashed. It's poetic. It's real. It's witty. It's wise. It is heartbreaking and uplifting and everything in between.

What would you like them to leave thinking/ talking about?

As Vivienne is processing a harsh realization toward the end of the play, she speaks a line of text that I quickly underlined, highlighted, and repeated out loud when I came upon it for the first time: "Let me never wish away a moment of this life." I have not yet zeroed in on precisely what playwright, Steve Yockey, is saying with this play, but that line will be my takeaway.

How would you describe your character? Any particular insights as you begin this process?

The White Egret, in many ways for me, is representational of Vivienne's hope. She is optimistic about the future because she believes she has control. As long as she has control, and everyone gets along, she can't even imagine harm coming to the world. In so many ways I think the White Egret represents the parts of ourselves that so long to hold onto the innocence of health before it is lost to any disease; that moment when we aren't recognizing just how marvelously we feel because we have not yet begun to feel its decline. She is both the rouser of social society in the forest of our minds, and the still and peaceful caregiver of our memories.

How do you prep for a role like this one or roles you have played in general?

I feel as though I have been preparing for this role for years, as I have been an avid watcher of the cousin of the White Egret, the Great Blue Heron. Their poise and patience have always drawn me in and while camping or canoeing during the summer months, I have been known to spend half an hour or more simply watching one bird on the shores of a lake as it goes about its daily practice of hunting, sunning, and acting statue. In this case, I also watched lots of National Geographic videos of white egrets and read up on Audubon's writings on the birds (he apparently found them to be good eating!).

What do you like most about this play?

The opportunity to create another world - a world within the mind of the main character AND within the shared world of our theatrical space. Where are we in this play? I'll leave the audience to answer that. What I like least is the reality that so many of us will recognize our family's story in Vivienne's tale ... I know that after just a week of rehearsals, Karen has already given so much truth to the struggle of losing a loved one to Alzheimer's that it is hard for me not to have images of my own Grandmother floating in my mind's eye as I enter the stage. 

How would you describe this play to our audience?

This one is tricky. It is not exactly a series of monologues, but it's not exactly not that either. I've been telling folks that it's essentially a one-woman show, with the assistance of some animal friends and a little myth-making. The story of a very human struggle with the gradual decline of a parent's health, a parent's presence, a mom losing her mom to a disease that doesn't make sense. In the midst of all this, we discover the ways that our experiences may be mirrored in nature and that taking any part of our world, internal or external, for granted does not bode well for our own wellbeing. 

What would you like them to leave thinking/ talking about?

I would like audience members to leave thinking about the ways they prioritize their lives right now. How can we all make the most of each moment - live the prosperous spring the White Egret so desires - each day so that no moment is truly "lost" even if the memories of it are. Oh, and go ask the people in your life who are entering their later years all the questions you've wanted to know about the life of theirs you never got to see. Learn from one another. And find joy.

What was the impetus to write BLACKBERRY WINTER?
 
The play was commissioned. Out of Hand Theater in Atlanta, GA approached me about developing a new work addressing Alzheimer's disease. Honestly, I instantly felt intimidated by the subject matter.  Also there are so many wonderful plays that already explore the topic.  But they told me I could attack it from any angle and examining the role of the caregiver immediately appealed to me. Carolyn Cook, a wonderful local actress who was on this journey with her own mother, also wanted to participate. So I jumped in. 
 
Has the play dramatically changed since the first draft?
 
The script has been slowly, gently refined across the first several productions. That's the benefit of a National New Play Network rolling world premiere. I knew from jump last season that I had seven productions locked in, so I could afford to try things along the way. But ultimately Blackberry Winter has maintained it's basic structure and tone. The first workshop we did though, before the script was out in the world? That ran well over two hours because I tried to include everything and the kitchen sink. It was just too much. But when the play focused in on this one woman and her very specific experiences, it really came to life.
 
What’s your writing process like? 
 
I'm not a particularly disciplined writer. But when I do write it tends to be in large, manic swaths. And I usually need music of some kind. The type varies depending on the project, but there's always music. It actively works against the clutter in my head.
 
How do you think BLACKBERRY WINTER has resonated with audiences so far? Any interesting feedback or an anecdote you’d be willing to share?
 
Two things. Audiences come in expecting something bleak and then really connect with and respond to the shared experiences, humor, and resilience of hope in the face of something so hopeless. And audiences want to talk afterwards. They are desperate to talk, to share their own stories. So many people are navigating caregiving for a loved one (or have) and they can often feel alone.  Suddenly, they realize they're not the only ones who have these thoughts, these fears. It's remarkable.

Do you garden?
 
I got seriously into flower gardening after working in a garden center for four years. Like Tania, I’m a ‘native gardener’, and along with roses, peonies, lilies, and lilacs, I do plant weeds: Milkweed, Joe Pye weed, gooseneck, mullein, mallows, and many more perennials; plus herbs: mint, thyme, oregano, bergamot, bee and lemon balm. As long as it’s fragrant/thrives on its own, it can stay in my yard.
 
What would you do if you found out your neighbor had been using two feet of your property?
 
If I discovered that a neighbor had ‘acquired' some part of my land, I’d certainly be quick to correct that. Boundaries are necessary and legal ownership is important. And yes, I would fight for it if need be, though not physically. I’d call or visit or send a letter first, and I’d get legal backup if it continued.
 
What do you like most about acting in comedies?
 
Working in comedy is a tough job, but it’s so rewarding when you hear the audience laugh. I grew up loving Burns and Allen, I Love Lucy, and the Carol Burnett Show, and it gave me such a happy heart! That’s a great feeling and I hope I can spread a little of that joy to every audience member.
 
What do you like most about this play?
 
Each character in this play is a good, decent, civilized person. Yet despite that, each is subtly ingrained with ‘isms’: ageism, classism, racism, sexism, that they have to confront and overcome. That’s what I like most about this play.