This post is a little late, however, this play is too good to not be posted. First of all, as soon as I went into the theater, the irrelevant  music caught my attention. I expected a smooth and a calm music for the crowd to settle in. However, that was not the case, since it was a very loud and electronic music. However, when the show started, the mood changed.

The overall story line was great, filled with suspense and humor. There was a great shift in mood in the second part of the play. The ending, however, did confuse me since I expected an additional scene. It felt as if something was missing, and I left the building confused and not satisfied. However, the fact that this play only used four characters and one setting to create such an amazing product, was shocking. In addition, I found it really interesting that when the scenes ended, the lights turned off, and when the lights turned back on, the staffs were moving all the props back to where it was originally and when they left, the characters came back in again, and continued to the next scene. That was something that I have not seen previously.

This one performance was able to effectively compile several touchy subjects that most people are afraid of confronting directly, into a perspective that we could all relate to in some way and understand. It addressed racism, sexism, sexual orientation, white privilege, and what entails each one.

During the performance, two of the actors (the two younger brothers) began playing a game called “Privilege”, (which I thought was subtly powerful, but powerful nonetheless) which was not only meant to be a joke, but it also put privilege into the perspective of a reality. This act also foreshadowed the fact that only the two younger brothers had grown up using their privilege whereas the oldest brother felt like he didn’t deserve it, and had to earn it instead.

It was definitely interesting to see how they presented different views of privilege through each actor in the family and how each one ultimately decided to take advantage of it if they did at all. I also thought it was powerful how one by one, each of Matt’s (the oldest brother) family members, left him because of the fact that he didn’t know what to do with his life and with his privilege, but he knew for sure that he didn’t want to use and abuse it like his brothers had.

The first thing that catches one’s attention as you walk into the auditorium is the music. I for one was expecting some “elevator-like” music, a soft tune that’s repetitive; something one can listen to while waiting on an event to happen. What was playing in place of that soft and soothing music was outrageous. The auditorium was blasting rap music that covered the topics of many vulgar things. The funny thing about this was that the audience consisted of elderly people who probably have no idea what the slang words meant!Thankfully the music was stifled when the play started.

As for the play itself, it started off really light. The latter half of the play was not. The play began with the brothers goofing off, fighting with each other, and catching up on each other’s lives. When the last 30 minutes of the play hit, The issue of privilege came through and was argued back and forth. The play ended with one of the brothers left alone.

The actors weren’t the best. From my point of view, if one was to be in character, they would talk normally as if having a normal conversation. One of the actors kept over-emphasizing words as if he was a 5th grader reading lines off a manuscript. Another actor had his crying feel really awkward and out of place. There were some more irregularities, but who am I to criticize. I am no actor and I barely watch plays.

For the part of the play that covered privilege, I have to admit that it was very hard to digest what each viewpoint on privilege each brother has. All in all, the message was clear and I honestly think the play was worth the $25 and the attention.