“The cast is compelling and the show well directed...It is all very neat. Too neat, perhaps: The story feels overly polished in a way that will be familiar to observers of well-crafted contemporary American theater. Harper has serious writing chops, but if the story of activism has taught us something, it’s that a little mess can be liberating.”
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“Harper’s terrific drama...It’s no surprise that a fine actor would write fine dialogue, or that he has a precise touch for characterization. What’s most exciting is how well he orchestrates the pressures of event and argument: His whole created world breathes...Harper writes scenes to slightly overlap, and...Broadnax III handles this with clarity and force; he uses the tiny stage at Ensemble Studio Theatre to good effect, and his cast is tremendous.”
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"Relatively hands-off direction puts much of the onus on the dialogue and actors to carry the day. Thankfully, Harper shows a knack for colorful dialogue throughout: funny at unexpected moments, eloquent during serious ones. And the cast bring a dynamism to their roles that feels positively electric..Perhaps most impressive about 'Travisville' is Harper's clearheaded willingness to embrace the agonizing complexities of his subject."
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“Harper skillfully tracks several plot threads...These storylines collide, creating dialogue that crackles with drama...Under the direction of Broadnax III, a large cast does full justice to the harsh truths embedded in Harper's rangy tale...Harper emerges as a fully developed playwright...There are no easy answers in ‘Travisville’, but you're likely to find yourself dwelling on the characters and their dilemmas long after the show is over. This is an impressive debut.”
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"The clash between mature pragmatism versus youthful idealism in relation to the civil rights movement is bracingly dramatized in a series of finely written short scenes. Harper’s taut construction, solid plotting and detailed characters all yield to a suspenseful, emotionally shattering and entertaining experience...Director Steve H. Broadnax III’s smooth staging realizes the play’s seriousness, tenderness, and humor."
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"Infused in glorious ways with first-time playwright Harper’s actor sensibilities. His carefully-etched characters...confront sit-ins, generational shifts in power, and community change. Meaty individual monologues shine...It is the arc of the local political compromises that provide the dramatic sparks in this story...Elegant direction by Broadnax masks the fact that the many scenes make pieces out of the story...The play that hones those stories into one resonant whole is not yet here."
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“Harper has written a fierce piece of theater with dialogue that pops and sparks with humor and intensity...No one is a villain, twisting their bar handled mustache and laughing. These are complicated human beings. These are remarkable people...And the cast? Took my breath away...I do wish we had seen more of the women...Broadnax III’s direction is spot on. Scenes flow from one to the other seamlessly. There is no excess just constant motion to an end that will, if nothing, bring hope.”
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“Such a good, tight play...Barring a strange deflation of storytelling towards the end (it feels like the play doesn't know when or how to end right), it is a polished jewel of writing and acting, and carried by some sharp and distinctive performances from its cast of nine...Stylistically, scenes run into one another; the words of one character blanketed by the next. It's an effective technique sometimes, and a little irritating at others.”
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