What I liked
The darkness of the subject matter is expertly balanced with the bizarre sweetness of the dance pieces between the two brothers.
I also love that the play leaves the conflicts ultimately unresolved with the characters, instead giving the audience the last word.
What I didn't like
If my arm’s really twisted to find something to criticize, perhaps the opening monologue predisposes the audience to view the prosecutor as a villain in a way that the rest of the play seems to resist. I wonder if more of the audience might have been on her side if she hadn’t been coded with such wrath in the show’s opening moments.
My overall impression
Yet another example of the Puckwit Gang’s unstoppable creativity. They are the masters of movement, telling stories that matter with theatric flourish and ingenuity.
In Conclusion, In Conclusion bottles up two child murderers with the prosecutor and their attorney in a single, fluid space. The four of them feel like a perverse family, and the formalities of courtroom monologues feel like personal confessions. A meditation on capital punishment that ends in a bit of audience participation that manages to challenge without alienating, an excellent reminder that our votes on issues like this carries the power of both life and death.
