On a Stool at the End of the Bar Review

This is probably going to be the most memorable trip of the semester for me because it was the last one, how much I enjoyed it, and because I was so surprised by it. I should start my review by saying that I did not know that this play was supposed to take place in the 70s or the 80s, which is why for almost all the play, I did not get what the big deal was. I just didn’t understand why the sex change would change anything about Chris. She is still the same person with the same thoughts and feelings. But even if it did take place today, I think that the fact that Chris lied hurt more than anything. I really understood why Chris lied. She had everything he wanted and I think she was trying to hide the struggles of her past and not bring up the traumatic things that happened to her before she had the life she always wanted to avoid ruining it or being judged again. If she was kicked out of her house and only 17 by her own family, how could she expect others to accept her? I was really sympathizing for Chris for so long, I really didn’t judge her until she played her father. It was when she revealed what she did to her dad to her brother that I realized that these characters aren’t ideal and that everything is not black and white. I think the thing that made these characters so real was that they had both good and bad qualities. They were only human. Even until the end of the play, I was really sad for Chris because I think it is naïve to believe that the family would live happily-ever-after, especially during that time period, but I was feeling bad for Chris until the end because at the end of her therapy session, I was wondering if she would have gotten the sex changed if she felt that she could have been a gay guy during that time and find someone to love her.

I do not remember who brought it up in class first, but I definitely agree that some of the language in the play was offensive. Every time one of the characters said the “f” word, I would cringe or wince. It is such a vulgar word and even the way the actors delivered the word, you could tell it was out of a place of disgust, which was just so harsh.

For some reason, I thought it was really selfish of some of the family members to make the situation about them. For example, Tony was very concerned about himself and if he is gay and concerned about the fact that he was with a man. During his confession scene, I realized he probably did not want Chris’s secret to get out because of what people would say about him too. Even the son Joey was kind of selfish. I thought his reaction was selfish as well. I thought that he left the family to join the military because he couldn’t take knowing that his step-mom was a man. I feel like his reaction was impulsive and I feel like he wasn’t thinking about how running away might affect his family and was just concerned with himself.

I think it was Alex and Cale who mentioned it, but they said that the playwright tried getting the play recognized years ago and no one would touch it. This got me thinking about other works of art that in the pass would not be acceptable. It really made me sad to hear that this play and probably other art forms that are considered inappropriate go unrecognized because I feel like the arts are supposed to be this open and honest way of communicating the truth, even if it a truth we do not want to see.