Overview
- The Playwrights Horizons production officially opened Tuesday, November 10, and will continue performances through November 29.
- The play centers on Janice, a Black woman in 1992 who returns to her Midwestern hometown after a proposal to rename a public pool for her father forces her to reckon with family memory and civic sacrifice.
- Reviewers consistently praise Tiffany Nichole Greene’s inventive direction and a committed ensemble led by Alana Raquel Bowers, Biko Eisen‑Martin, Crystal Lucas‑Perry and Marinda Anderson, and they single out Lawrence E. Moten III’s scenic work and the production’s sound and lighting design.
- Critics also note recurring flaws in Christina Anderson’s script, saying its dense, lyrical, stream‑of‑consciousness style and frequent monologues can make the drama feel vague and emotionally distant rather than fully dramatized.
- Drawn from Anderson’s own experience and research into the racist history of pool access, the play links private family tensions to public memory and could prompt renewed discussion about how communities commemorate civil‑rights labor and ensure equitable access to civic resources.