Lesser Seductions review: Judith Mahoney Pasternak, The Indypendent

(Photo by Tyler G. Hicks-Wright. Pictured: Jake Alexander, Candice Holdorf, Matthew Archambault)

Our 10th review comes from Judith Mahoney Pasternak at The Indypendent, and it is fascinating in its unique take on the politics of the play. I especially like how she noticed the subtle sexism present in the play, using this pointed example:

Schulenburg does get a lot of the Sixties right, especially the casual brutality with which so many male idealists treated women before Second Wave Feminism raised our collective consciousness. (“Far away stars die/Because they don’t have Marie/To clean up their mess,” declares one of Isaac’s haikus.)

I wanted the various isms of the decade to be present in a way that was casual (and therefore more dangerous) rather than heavy handed, but the risk of doing so is to underplay how powerful those forces were. To give these devils their due I tried to find them in the details, and it’s good to hear they were at least partially received.

So, read the whole review, and then get your tickets, and after you’ve seen the show, please share your thoughts here.