"A sad and breathless and often pretty funny play...Yee and Rafaeli tilt the play toward surrealism, keeping horror at bay with quick-fire dialogue and bad jokes...'In a Word' emphasizes metaphor and repetition in ways that sometimes feel dramatically potent, at other times self-consciously writerly...The play ultimately suggests that even if loss on this level can’t really be understood, it can be survived. That’s reason enough to see 'In a Word.' Here’s one more: the remarkable Mr. Mark."
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"The Dead Child plot has become a familiar way to give a woman a dramatic arc through guilt and grief...Yee has chops, but she has trouble here in making something that doesn't seem like an echo of plays that have gone before. 'In a Word' does boast some genuinely fresh moments...What saves the day is Yee's demand that the whole thing be played at warp speed, which director Tyne Rafaeli accomplishes with wit and panache."
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“Lauren Yee's ‘In a Word,’ winner of the 2016 Francesca Primus Prize and a finalist for the ATCA/Steinberg Award, is a powerful drama delineating the journey of a couple Fiona (Laura Ramadei) and Guy (Jose Joaquin Perez), whose adopted son Tristan, age seven, has gone missing. It is the second anniversary of his disappearance and Fiona is reviewing the events of the previous two years. Is it time to let go?”
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"An immensely clever, well-written work that explores grief and memory, creating a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience...An immensely clever play from start to finish. Lauren Yee's intelligent script is matched by the production's staging ...The actors help to pull off a script that requires a lot of skill as time and characters shift constantly and quickly...The sort of innovative, well-written play that one hopes to find in Off-Broadway theatre, so see it before it closes."
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“This three-hander offers a trenchant look at situations that raise painful questions about the family dynamic…An interesting, innovative and Pinteresque production…The power of the play is in its linguistic word constructions and in the scenes which shift realities much as Fiona’s memory shifts from past to present and at times merges the two…The performances by Laura Ramadei, and Justin Mark as the son are deftly portrayed…Justin Mark delivers an incredible performance.”
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“Yee’s highly stylized language creates the world of Fiona’s mind…Some moments felt overwrought, particularly in the beginning, but Yee succeeds in bringing those moments together by the end, helping to make sense of some of the play’s more overly poetic instances. The result is powerful, and gives the play a poetic structure that externalizes the inner workings of memories viewed through a screen of trauma and grief…Laura Ramadei’s stricken performance grounds the show.”
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"'In a Word' is a compelling and emotional idea wrought with an alienating risk but also impenetrable connection. Yee succeeds, on both counts. Pushing us aside unintentionally at moments of overreaching complexity, but also grabbing our hearts quite purposefully. I only wish director, Tyne Rafaeli, were half as brave, allowing the phenomenal trio of actors to slow down and play a bit more in the abstract dimension Yee has placed them in."
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"This engaging play connects deeply with the emotions and raises rich and enduring questions...Under Rafaeli’s steady hand, the action moves forward with clarity and precision...The cast is uniformly believable, delivering authentic performances, exhibiting real conflicts that drive the intriguing plot. Although the issues raised here are not new, Yee’s handling of these important concepts gives them a freshness and a mystery that is agreeable and worthwhile."
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