The Idea of America

You wouldn't know this play was written by a student; in my opinion it could compete with many respected contemporary playwrights. I think Sam Shore did an excellent job, in both the writing and direction of this play.

The writing was very funny yet profoundly tragic, and the way the characters and plot unfolded gradually throughout the play, without ever once feeling like exposition, was utterly engaging. Plus Sam had the advantage of having cast the play superbly, and the actors gave very powerful performances. The only sort-of exception to this, in my opinion, was the actress playing Maureen. Her characterization was generally very strong, but I felt that the actress had the tendency to play many of the moments with a kind of happy immunity that didn't necessarily belong to the character, or to the play. The only other flaw I could identify in the production was possibly the staging - the lower, front level was used a lot, but unfortunately it was a bit shallow which restricted the staging a bit and sometimes made it very difficult for the audience to see all of the action. I think if the play were to be staged again it would benefit from having a shallower upper level and more depth in the lower. It was still a really wonderful play though!