What I liked
Rosie and Hailey crafted these genius moments that you can only do in theatre; Anna’s meticulously articulated ingratiating narrative cuts violently into these existential-word-vomit episodes that are pitiful enough to make you feel for her. This woman’s facade is so strong that she simply does not have conscious access to real human emotions, but it’s still there bubbling beneath the surface….and we get to SEE it. It reminds me of the sympathy I have for the Liver King guy———-he’s a sad little man trapped in a society that has forced him to play a character…..it’s unsustainable. Anna’s facade is similarly unsustainable…………….can she keep it up in the face of the most profound devastation??? GO SEE TO FIND OUT.
What I didn't like
uhhhh huh?
My overall impression
If you’ve ever spiraled down the rabbit hole of Tucker Carlson/Tomi Lahren/Anne Coulter/Alex Jones Right-wing-porn, this play will give you PTSD…in a good way. This play provides an access point to the moral framework of an NRA spokesperson, Anna Fierling, with just enough empathy to let us sink in, but not so much that we forget where we stand. We hate her…we want to scream…and then she smiles…and for a moment she seems like our friend… The Catch 22 of capitalist incentive structures is on full display; we need to make money to provide for our families, but that need often subverts our broader ethics. It sucks. As I’ve only seen otherwise in Will Arbery’s “Heroes of the Fourth Turning,” the audience is quite jarringly asked to confront the other side, and in doing so we sharpen our own worldview.
