“Once ‘Amani’ turns away from her father toward romance, the play loses its hypnotic tempo, and, crucially, its humor. But at least the gifted Manning—always a standout in Off Broadway work—remains onstage for all of it, drinking up the spotlight, a jewel under glass.”
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“Davis's direction keeps the play lively throughout, but he can't disguise the fact that, by the halfway point, ‘Amani’ has become something of a sermon...Whether it makes for compelling theatre is another question. Payne is, I think, a gifted writer, but she might be better off as a poet or essayist.”
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Denise Manning as Amani is totally believable as a 9-year-old who has had to grow up quickly without parents and her naiveté about love as she maneuvers through growing pains is touching. Her scenes with her father move from precocious to acutely heartfelt to ultimately switching roles when she has to lay down tough love right back at him. It is a performance layered with so many emotions all at once. Although the play is performed without an intermission, it is clearly broken up into three acts, with the second act culminating in a “I deserve to live” soliloquy for Amani that, as performed by Ms. Manning, is breathtaking in its scope.
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