The Thanksgiving Play / What Would Crazy Horse Do?

by Larissa FastHorse

The Thanksgiving Play “Satire doesn’t get much richer… A takedown of white American mythology… The familiar, whitewashed story of Pilgrims and Native Americans chowing down together gets a delicious roasting.” — Jesse Green, New York Times “Wryly funny… Deftly makes points that need making about representation and, to borrow a line from Hamilton , the crucial matter of ‘who tells your story.’” — Don Aucoin, Boston Globe A group of well-intentioned white teaching artists scramble to create an ambitious “woke” Thanksgiving pageant. Despite their eager efforts to put on the most culturally sensitive show possible, it quickly becomes clear that even those with good intentions can be undone by their own blind spots. What Would Crazy Horse Do? “A nuanced portrait of reservation life… A scalding cauldron of race and resentment, poverty, and mental illness.” — Robert W. Butler, Kansas City Star “A timely meditation on the dangers of nationalism tinged with a sad irony as seen through the filter of a Native American lens.” — Alan Portner, Broadway World Twins Calvin and Journey, the last two members of the Marahotah tribe, make a suicide pact to end the Marahotah when the grandfather who raised them dies. Then two white strangers knock on their door and the insular world of the twins is ripped wide open.

Genres: Plays, Drama, Fiction, Adult, Indigenous

160 pages, Paperback

Published June 22, 2021

Reviews

[Eva B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's always a gamble to read the script of a play since so much of it will always be lost in translation between the stage and the page, but in the case of these plays, it was a gamble that paid off. FastHorse is an incredibly talented writer and her leading characters are compellingly awful, one of my favorite types of lead. Both plays are thought-provoking and balance humor and emotional throat-punches well. Some immensely beautiful lines in here.

[Jon Zelazny · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the spouse of a veteran inner city public elementary school teacher, I can attest THE THANKSGIVING PLAY is the most withering, hilarious shredding of wokeness I never knew I wanted.

I was all set to proclaim Ms. FastHorse a genius, but then I started WWCHD?, which is the kind of relentlessly unappealing "problem drama" that would have me fleeing any theatrical production in about twenty minutes. So, let's just say, y'know, at her best, Ms. FastHorse is a genius.

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

September 12, 2021: Finished "What Would Crazy Horse Do?" I read it for a staged reading at a theatre company, and found the concept to be so well-thought-out. It's very frustrating to accept the affiliation of some characters, but it lends to the tension-filled scenes. What a wild journey it is that goes on here.

November 22, 2021: Finished "The Thanksgiving Play" This one I read on my own accord, and found the concept here to be equally as well-planned! I would hate to see 4 non-Indigenous people play these characters, so I'm glad that there is a casting note to consider people of color for the roles. Thanksgiving is such a frustrating thing because it suggests to celebrate the colonization and forced taking of our land, resources, and people. It's very difficult to change largely adopted pieces of pop culture, but I think this play is a strong step towards that direction. It brings up these topics and many other micro-aggressions that may go unnoticed if you haven't been on the other side of them, but this piece works to shine a light on a number of important Native American struggles. By no means is this everything that we go through, so if this is your introduction to Native American literature, then I urge you to keep going and read more from Indigenous authors. This written work, as well as the rest of Larissa Fasthorse's catalog, is a perfect place to start learning about the Native American experience.

[river · Rating 4 out of 5]

specifically read what would crazy horse do? fasthorse is always provocative, and this play is no different. a heartbreaking portrayal of life on a reservation and what happens when you’re fighting an enemy that’s forgotten you even exist

[Daniela Paladino · Rating 4 out of 5]

read for class -- really good!

[dani ୨♡୧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

the ending = “go girl, give us nothing!”

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

"I went by the pronoun "they" for a full year. I'm allowed one mistake."

Thanksgiving Play was very funny, spoke to the times. What Would Crazy Horse Do? wasn't my favorite but I imagine it might be arresting if I had seen it performed...maybe.

[William Razavi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Thanksgiving Play is dangerously clever satire. While it makes obvious fun of the well meaning but performative (literally and figuratively) liberals who ultimately are guided by needing to center their own desires and careers, the real target here is still the kind of right wing goon squad of parents and administrators and their ilk who just want to tell their story of righteous Pilgrim Fathers eating turkey and founding America. (Cue that Lee Greenwood song.) But look carefully at the songs between the scenes of the main narrative and you see what the real target here is. And while we can laugh at the well meaning historian/budding playwright who wants to start with a scene of prehistoric harvest festivals from Europe and North America, he's also the character who gives us the description of settlers cutting off the heads of the natives and then bringing them back to the village and that's exactly the kind of information that the traditionalist brigade really doesn't want to hear about.
So yeah, this is a fun and sophisticated play.

What Would Crazy Horse Do? is as dark as the subtitle says it would be. Still has some touches of humor in it but ultimately it's a real thought provoking play that takes aim at the idea of blood purity and cultural identification and we end up with a real conundrum. I think seeing the last two members of a tribe having to struggle with finding a point of connection with the aims of the KKK raises all sorts of questions that are hard to answer but worth asking.

[aster · Rating 4 out of 5]

a nice duet of plays. “thanksgiving play” is a satirical dissection of wokeness juxtaposed with examples of the ways in which anti-native sentiments/exotification pop up in our education system. “what would crazy horse do?” places a modern KKK visionary next to the last two members of the fictional makatoah tribe, interrogating questions of racial segregation and historical legacy and responsibility.

i enjoyed both! “thanksgiving play”, like any comedy, had moments for me that worked and ones that didn’t. i especially liked alicia’s character and thought her whole premise was funny/insightful. “wwchd” was a theoretically interesting and fruitful act of juxtaposition, but i wasn’t a huge fan of the frequent soliliquizing/theorizing on the part of evan’s character especially. i understand how it builds to the reversal in journey’s position as an answer to the mystery of their uncle, but it felt like more of a repetition than a build to indoctrination. that said, the image of the last scene especially felt like a punch in the gut.

[E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
I picked this up because I wanted to read The Thanksgiving Play, but surprised myself by enjoying What Would Crazy Horse Do? more. I think that I enjoyed the latter more than the former because the former is definitely meant to be a funny play and intentional comedy just isn't really my thing. That being said, it felt like a satirical situational comedy, which doesn't tend to be my thing anyway. It might also have something to do with the satire being so layered that it felt like I was missing something most of the time. WWCHD? is definitely funny in it's own way, but it feels more wry and dark than TTP did. It was interesting to see how Calvin and Journey's reactions changed as they were confronted with an unwitting and unwilling connection to how Evan and Rebel think. I would definitely still see either of these if the opportunity presented itself, but I think I would only re-read WWCHD.

[Sandra de Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This amazing play was developed here in Portland with the backing of Artists Rep Theatre. The original production starred three actors known to me. I wasn’t in Portland, so I did not see it, much to my regret. Now the play is headed for Broadway, and rightly so. The play is perfectly described as: “Good intentions collide with absurd assumptions in Larissa FastHorse’s wickedly funny satire, as a troupe of terminally “woke” teaching artists scrambles to create a pageant that somehow manages to celebrate both Turkey Day and Native American Heritage Month.”

[Sapphire Detective · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both plays are well worth the read here, see my reviews for more, but in general don't miss this.

The Thanksgiving Play - 4.5/5
What Would Crazy Horse Do? - 5/5

Overall rating: 4.75/5 (rounded up)
No favorite or least favorite, even with the difference in rating they're both really good.
Would I own/re-read?: Probably!
TW: See individual reviews.
Does the animal die?: See individual reviews.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first plays I’ve read in a long time. Did not finish The Thanksgiving Play. What Would Crazy Horse Do? was also hard to read but more interesting for this unseasoned play reader, as it contained more friction - between the Marahotah twin siblings who are grieving the death of loved ones and the two Ku Klux Klan leaders who show up on their doorstep to invite them to join them in their racial separation endeavors. Wild and strange reading.

[Natalie T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stimulating, provocative, hilarious, and harrowing--I read THE THANKSGIVING PLAY often roaring with laughter and cringing in horror at the same time. My first by this playwright and hope I get to see any of her work in person some day: I know my imagination cannot do justice to her art, and would love to encounter it as it is meant to be seen and heard, in a community setting with great actors and direction.

Fantastic.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Larissa FastHorse's Thanksgiving Play had me laughing and cringing page after page. These characters were so on point and their dialogue rang true. what Would Crazy House Do? also rang true, and brought up so much complexity that simple stances do not allow. FastHorse's questions were unflinching, powerful in the discomfort they create and refuse to resolve.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

both of these plays are so poignant despite taking two very different approaches. too brilliant for my tiny peanut brain to wrap around entirely, tbh. i'm left with a sense that i'm missing so much of the implicit commentary happening in the background because there is layer upon layer of satire, drama, and sharp wit.

[Montana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the 2nd play better than the first, what would crazy horse do, because it was more of a drama than hard satire. However mostly these are show that need to be staged, and reading them only captures a bit of the authors intent. I want to see these shows realized in that they are so interestingly violent and passionate about their subjects.

[Sylvia Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not what I expected. Its satire was clever and timely but it pointed to the fact of the difficulty of doing what is right when we don't know enough about history or the culture of those we want to help and to whom we want to be fair.

[Jane Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two very thought provoking. Written by a Native American it gave me a different look at some my long held beliefs. It also challenged some of the beliefs I am starting to form as I try to understand the real story of what it is like to live as a Native American.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny and weird. Meta and topical, almost to a point of annoying (actually, definitely to a point of annoyance). Ofc the white people abandon thinking about native Americans so they can think about sex instead

[Rachel Coyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful 1 - 2 punch with these plays combined. Engrossing and nuanced. Couldn’t put it down

[Kyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Would Crazy Horse Do?

“We’ve been fighting all our lives against an enemy that doesn’t even know we exist.”

[Amiya · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars for thanksgiving play, 4 stars for WWCHD

[MaKai Magie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had heard a lot about this play and finally got to read it. Well worth it.

[Yaniv · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Thanksgiving Play gave me a strong Portlandia vibe which just finished the year this play was published. What Would Crazy Horse Do? didnt make a whole lot of sense to me but somehow worked.