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Blue Surge
Curt is a small-town cop in the Midwest; Sandy is the nineteen-year-old prostitute he first tries to arrest, then attempts to help, at the cost of his badge. What Rebecca Gilman makes of this familiar scenario is something startlingly real and compelling, delving deeply into the small space that can divide a feeling of hope from one of hopelessness, as Curt and Sandy both try to get a foothold in the American dream of a house, a job, a life, a relationship with another human being.
Gilman's previous play, Boy Gets Girl , was acclaimed by Time magazine as the best play of 2000, saying that "with Spinning into Butter , her play about race relations on campus, Rebecca Gilman gave notice that she was a playwright to watch. And with this intense drama of a woman's encounter with a stalker, she became one to hail . . . It's not just a gripping play but also an important one." Marked by Gilman's characteristically sharp delineation of character, pitch-perfect dialogue, and effortless use of humor that is both biting and silly, Blue Surge is a worthy successor to these plays--an intimate look at the class struggle in America today as well as a brilliant example of the dramatic craft from one of today's most accomplished practitioners. It will have its world premiere at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago in the spring of 2001.
Gilman's previous play, Boy Gets Girl , was acclaimed by Time magazine as the best play of 2000, saying that "with Spinning into Butter , her play about race relations on campus, Rebecca Gilman gave notice that she was a playwright to watch. And with this intense drama of a woman's encounter with a stalker, she became one to hail . . . It's not just a gripping play but also an important one." Marked by Gilman's characteristically sharp delineation of character, pitch-perfect dialogue, and effortless use of humor that is both biting and silly, Blue Surge is a worthy successor to these plays--an intimate look at the class struggle in America today as well as a brilliant example of the dramatic craft from one of today's most accomplished practitioners. It will have its world premiere at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago in the spring of 2001.
132 pages, Paperback
First published January 5, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 5, 2024
3.5/5 stars
This play came out in the early 00's and although I admire the playwrights progressive views on sexwork, especially then, this did feel a bit dated... and I'm unsure why. Maybe the commentary on police force and the male centered story (by a female playwright)... I did enjoy it, especially the speeches on class...
This play came out in the early 00's and although I admire the playwrights progressive views on sexwork, especially then, this did feel a bit dated... and I'm unsure why. Maybe the commentary on police force and the male centered story (by a female playwright)... I did enjoy it, especially the speeches on class...
January 15, 2020
Wasn't a huge fan of how everything turned out nor was I a huge fan of any of the characters so while it wasn't a bad play it wasn't one that struck my fancy nor would I want to read it again I don't think.
April 26, 2020
Class disparity is explored through memorable characters. It's sweet and intense, melancholy and painful.
November 20, 2020
A little heavy-handed at times.
December 13, 2023
Solid play
March 6, 2024
LOVED this play. I love a play where all of the characters have pretty questionable morals and make questionable decisions- because it forces you to examine who you’re rooting for and why.
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March 19, 2011One of the reasons I love Rebecca Gilman as a playwright is her ability to mix genres, which is a pretty difficult thing for any writer to do and do well. Blue Surge is comic, tragic and romantic while at the same time exploring both gender and class issues. Wow, that's a lot for a writer to tackle, but Ms. Gilman can pull it off with her snappy lines, quick prose, and can do it with under five characters and two acts. Brilliant.
Everybody loses a little bit in this play, as Curt, a cop, attempts to arrest Sandy, a prostitute with whom he ends up falling in love. Curt has an upper middle class fiancee, Beth, who seems to have a realistically portrayed sense of moral entitlement without being obnoxiously preachy. This set up could quickly lend itself to melodrama, but Ms. Gilman never lets the play go there, which is a large part of her success as a playwright. it's realistic. It's art imitating life, which is a worthy goal of realism-minded playwrights. I disagree with the people who assert Blue Surge isn't on par with her other plays, the famous (and now a movie with Sarah Jessica Parker) Spinning into Butter, Boy Gets Girl, and The Glory of Living.
A play is meant to be performed, and can't always be compared with non dramatic literature because its intended audience is different. A play is held up to intense public scrutiny, a work of poetry or a novel is meant as an intimate experience between author and reader. It's important to keep that in mind when reading any play.
Everybody loses a little bit in this play, as Curt, a cop, attempts to arrest Sandy, a prostitute with whom he ends up falling in love. Curt has an upper middle class fiancee, Beth, who seems to have a realistically portrayed sense of moral entitlement without being obnoxiously preachy. This set up could quickly lend itself to melodrama, but Ms. Gilman never lets the play go there, which is a large part of her success as a playwright. it's realistic. It's art imitating life, which is a worthy goal of realism-minded playwrights. I disagree with the people who assert Blue Surge isn't on par with her other plays, the famous (and now a movie with Sarah Jessica Parker) Spinning into Butter, Boy Gets Girl, and The Glory of Living.
A play is meant to be performed, and can't always be compared with non dramatic literature because its intended audience is different. A play is held up to intense public scrutiny, a work of poetry or a novel is meant as an intimate experience between author and reader. It's important to keep that in mind when reading any play.
March 17, 2013
This is Gilman's best work that I've encountered. If you read only one play this year, it might as well be this.
Curt is the small town cop; Beth is the woman he plans to marry; Sandy is the girl he tries to save.
Channeling the torn-between-two-worlds power of works like Graham
Greene's The Heart of the Matter, Gilman's characters all walk a fine line between hope and hopelessness. They are at times players within and victims to a system and country that gives the poor no reason to believe in themselves.
I think Blue Surge works best as a commentary on the power of (a lack of) education to hold back those in search of "the American Dream," as well as an explorations of the impossibility of sincere dialogue between the classes. Like all finely wrought tragedies, it is gripping from start to finish.
Curt is the small town cop; Beth is the woman he plans to marry; Sandy is the girl he tries to save.
Channeling the torn-between-two-worlds power of works like Graham
Greene's The Heart of the Matter, Gilman's characters all walk a fine line between hope and hopelessness. They are at times players within and victims to a system and country that gives the poor no reason to believe in themselves.
I think Blue Surge works best as a commentary on the power of (a lack of) education to hold back those in search of "the American Dream," as well as an explorations of the impossibility of sincere dialogue between the classes. Like all finely wrought tragedies, it is gripping from start to finish.
February 25, 2008
highly implausible but a sweet play nonetheless.
September 7, 2012
This has one A+ monologue in it, but the rest is just okay. I might like it better on stage then I liked it on paper though.
March 31, 2014
This was surprisingly moving. I kept thinking I knew where she was going, and I kept being wrong.
October 20, 2008
A mixed up play of hookers and cops in the midwest - how could it not be great?
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews