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In the Wake by Lisa Kron
"Funny, moving, and undeniably sexy. The heady blend of smart dialogue and characters. . .makes it a candidate to be the Angels in America of the Bush II decade."that ideas about America and our own selves are not as fixed as they once seemed. A play with plenty of humor and passion to go with its politics, Kron's work premiered last year at Berkeley Rep and Los Angeles' Center Theater Group, and debuted at The Public Theater in New York this fall.Lisa Kron's plays have been performed on Broadway, off-Broadway, and around the world. She is a founding member of the award-winning theater group The Five Lesbian Brothers, and teaches playwriting at Yale University.
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First published May 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 20, 2016
FUCK ME UP, LISA KRON.
November 5, 2018
This play feels like it could be two separate plays. I'm still trying to figure out what connection there is between the wake of Bush's election and Ellen's relationship is, but I sort of wish that I didn't have to connect them. Each story was interesting on their own, and to mush them together made me check out. There are some good lines and good monologues in this play, but as a whole, I felt like it was sort of beating its points to death for the most part. Still a worthwhile and timely af read.
September 12, 2018
"In the dizzying grief I feel for my
family…I can see…the shape of my love. I can see, from here, the
pulsing, bursting beauty of it. In this keening, aching loss I feel…I see
the shape of my desire."
A play about politics that's actually about love and loss and risk and relationships and never quite knowing who you are or what you want until it's too late!
August 6, 2019
This is a complex study in human motivations, how we build our lives, and how we love. A beautiful play.
January 7, 2025
Kron is, of course, an exceptional playwright and is perfectly at home dissecting vaguely dissatisfied protagonists, usually female, and forcing them to confront their shortcomings
In that sense, In the Wake is classic Kron. But here, she also throws in a bit of a political angle. Her protagonist Ellen is obsessed with the 2000 election as the play begins and it moves through about five years, each major group scene coinciding with another event that brings Ellen to a fury. Meanwhile, in her personal life, she has surrounded herself with friends (her boyfriend, his sister, her partner, etc.) in an effort to make up for the loneliness she felt as an only child. The play opens with her happily hosting a Thanksgiving dinner (while raging at the TV news) and all is well. And seems to be until she meets Amy about a third through the play and falls into an affair. An affair her boyfriend, much to the chagrin of his family is ok with. Until, of course, he isn't.
There's a lot going on here and a lot to keep track off. All the characters speak in the shorthand speed of bonafide or transplanted New Yorkers and when anyone stops to take a breath, it's usually because they are terrified.
The main issue with the play, which is good not great, is that, of the eight characters, only three are well-drawn, distinct characters with arcs. The rest mostly act as foils or exist to make a point. Eventually, Ellen arrives at her painful truth but most of the characters, and therefore the play, isn't interesting enough for us to be truly affected by that truth.
In that sense, In the Wake is classic Kron. But here, she also throws in a bit of a political angle. Her protagonist Ellen is obsessed with the 2000 election as the play begins and it moves through about five years, each major group scene coinciding with another event that brings Ellen to a fury. Meanwhile, in her personal life, she has surrounded herself with friends (her boyfriend, his sister, her partner, etc.) in an effort to make up for the loneliness she felt as an only child. The play opens with her happily hosting a Thanksgiving dinner (while raging at the TV news) and all is well. And seems to be until she meets Amy about a third through the play and falls into an affair. An affair her boyfriend, much to the chagrin of his family is ok with. Until, of course, he isn't.
There's a lot going on here and a lot to keep track off. All the characters speak in the shorthand speed of bonafide or transplanted New Yorkers and when anyone stops to take a breath, it's usually because they are terrified.
The main issue with the play, which is good not great, is that, of the eight characters, only three are well-drawn, distinct characters with arcs. The rest mostly act as foils or exist to make a point. Eventually, Ellen arrives at her painful truth but most of the characters, and therefore the play, isn't interesting enough for us to be truly affected by that truth.
September 15, 2022
I really like the way she writes dialogue - very natural and flows very well. The humor feels natural as well, not grating or trying to hard.
Wasn’t quite satisfied with the ending of this one.
Wasn’t quite satisfied with the ending of this one.
December 12, 2011
1m/5w Contemporary feminist & lesbian issues set against the GW Bush administration.
April 9, 2013
Oh fucking foreshadowing. How much do I hate you now 'in the wake'.
July 21, 2018
Not quite the virtuosity of Well, but a really solid take on the standard middle-class dinner party drama with some notably unfortunate cover art.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews