What I liked
Schaeffer’s writing is clear, moving, and often clever. She brings energy to the stage, and wins our confidence. She also chlllingly describes the numb days that followed her daughter’s death.
What I didn't like
Besides correcting the misleading subtitle — and following up in the play itself on that elegantly poignant title — the play most needs Schaeffer to experience with us the extreme emotions she talks about. But the text makes clear she is unlikely to do it.
My overall impression
“You in Midair: An Elegy for a Daughter” is not an elegy — it’s a mother’s lament. Danna Schaeffer shares her joy in her daughter Rebecca, a rising actress, and recounts her arduous journey after Rebecca’s murder into a life without her. Schaeffer is intelligent, vivacious, and witty — but she does not enact the grief she describes. As a result, we do not experience it, nor the catharsis we wish for.
