What I liked
I loved how she brought us into the cacophony of her fractured facets—to the point where we, just like her, wonder if we will ever get to see or know the “real” Alex. She does not disappoint.
What I didn't like
I actually wanted more. I would have willingly followed Alex even deeper into the chaotic world of unexpected and unimaginable loss.
My overall impression
Alex Ryan, on a journey to discover the “real” her, has created a piece that is quick, funny, and entertaining—while, at the same time, both instructive and deeply moving. As she invites us into the intimate world of her troubled birth family, she demonstrates with ease and light-heartedness the “not-so-funny” phenomenon of a developing young personality being fractured into people-pleasing facets as a survival mechanism. Then (although not without warning), she shares with us the sharp and imperishable pain of sudden tragedy, providing us (or reminding us of) basic insight into grief; both for the grieving and for those who are “grief-adjacent”(my term, not hers). Sound difficult to make funny? It is—and she has pulled it of with thoughtful beauty and grace. And despite casual self-deprecating references to her diminutive frame, Alex is a powerhouse who feels—and appears—larger than life on the stage.
