Saving Cain

There are only a handful of “can’t miss” writers at the Fringe, and Aaron Kozak is definitely on that list. His latest, Saving Cain, is an extremely well crafted masterpiece that shines new light on the religious right and those that can’t meet their standards.... full review

What this show, written by Aaron Kozak, offers proves very compelling indeed. No less important, it surprises. Saving Cain was described to me as the story of a rebellious teenager trying to deal with his born-again Pentecostal control-freak of a mother. I expected one of two things: Either a dark comedy or a polemic against a certain brand (at least) of Fundamentalist Christianity. Maybe both. I got something a lot better. The pair of mother (Leah Verrill) and son (Lenny Hernandez) play out a story that kept setting up plot formulas that then veered away into something more real. And by real I often mean more touching, profound, and compelling. For one thing, that boy is worse than sarcastic. Not a bad kid, far from cruel for ex... full review

Saving Cain is a human-centric multi-layered story with a tremendous amount of depth it simultaneously provides a commentary on our current geopolitical climate, dealing with the struggles of a single parent household, addiction, losing yourself in religious fanaticism, and ultimately finding your own strength and moving towards your path to peace. There is quite a bit to unpack in the exceptional show which runs a little over an hour and a half. I will do my best to summarize my thoughts. ... full review

RECOMMENDED... full review

SAVING CAIN is a well written production with a quite unusual ending. I am a secular humanist and I almost walked away after 15 minutes watching the show because I can't stand religious zealots but I'm glad I stayed. The ending with the son reminded me of the movie TASTE OF CHERRY by Abbas Kiarostami. Thank you all for a fun 1 1/2 hours in the theater! ... full review

The show delivers powerful performances that are absolutely mesmerizing in moments and it is definitely up there on my list of productions who should be commended for best use of a projector. There are some questions about the script that make me wonder whether I missed a beat for at least one character makes a pretty significant leap from one brand of faith into another that might not be fully earned. Though it is not news to learn that one instance of pain management in a person's life could get that person addicted to drugs that leads them into a downward spiral, the way it plays out here feels half-explored. We have a character who was brought up in an extremely repressed religious environment who becomes an irredeemable addict yet th... full review