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Stunning
Characters: 2m, 4f / Drama
David Adjmi received the first ever Steinberg "Mimi" Playwright Award in 2009
Sixteen year old Lily knows nothing beyond the Syrian-Jewish community in Brooklyn where she lives a cloistered life with her much older husband. Soon an unlikely relationship with her enigmatic African-American maid opens Lily's world to new possibilities - but at a huge price. David Adjmi's daring new work shifts from caustic satire to violent drama as it exposes the ways we invent and defend our identities in the melting-pot of America.
David Adjmi received the first ever Steinberg "Mimi" Playwright Award in 2009
Sixteen year old Lily knows nothing beyond the Syrian-Jewish community in Brooklyn where she lives a cloistered life with her much older husband. Soon an unlikely relationship with her enigmatic African-American maid opens Lily's world to new possibilities - but at a huge price. David Adjmi's daring new work shifts from caustic satire to violent drama as it exposes the ways we invent and defend our identities in the melting-pot of America.
128 pages, Paperback
First published July 15, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 26, 2025
“I tried to make a dent in the world, but the world made a dent in me.”
Holy crap. Acts 2 and 3 are quite shocking and visceral. Loved it so much. Adjmi hinted at it in his note in the beginning, but I really enjoyed the intertextuality of the play and what it has to do with theater itself: namely, the relationship with Tennessee Williams. Going as far as to name a character “Blanche.” The lies we tell ourselves and we tell to others to get what we want, or need.
“Don’t you know it’s dangerous to trust people you don’t know very well.”
How this play takes A Streetcar Named Desire a step further, and using age-gap relationships, heritage, and race as additional layers made it all the more juicy. The race element, unfortunately, brings this real-world threat of gun-violence. The final images of this play? Fucking brutal. Holy crap.
“I’m older than you. I can see the things. You’re inside of it. (Pause) You’re in the labyrinth, I got the silk thread: Let me help you navigate it.”
What wonderful dialogue. It’s a little hard to read by yourself! Act 1, Scene 1 begins just like Stereophonic — and while watching Stereophonic live it’s easier to follow along, if I had just simply read it on the page first, boy, would that be tough to follow. The rhythm of this play is important, and you really fall into its groove when it turns into effective two-hander scenes (for the most part).
“Do I?”
“What.”
“Glow.”
Beat.
Glad to have read this play! I’d love to watch it staged. Happy to have checked off another David Adjmi play, but the stimulus is because I’m writing a little paper on Adjmi for my Acting As a Profession class, and we need to have read at least two plays by the contemporary playwrights we’re writing on. Really grateful to have picked Adjmi now. What a voice! Now, bud, stop plagiarizing — take it from me, from someone who also loves to wear his influences on his sleeve! Lol, I kid, I kid. The Stereophonic case got settled, right?
Holy crap. Acts 2 and 3 are quite shocking and visceral. Loved it so much. Adjmi hinted at it in his note in the beginning, but I really enjoyed the intertextuality of the play and what it has to do with theater itself: namely, the relationship with Tennessee Williams. Going as far as to name a character “Blanche.” The lies we tell ourselves and we tell to others to get what we want, or need.
“Don’t you know it’s dangerous to trust people you don’t know very well.”
How this play takes A Streetcar Named Desire a step further, and using age-gap relationships, heritage, and race as additional layers made it all the more juicy. The race element, unfortunately, brings this real-world threat of gun-violence. The final images of this play? Fucking brutal. Holy crap.
“I’m older than you. I can see the things. You’re inside of it. (Pause) You’re in the labyrinth, I got the silk thread: Let me help you navigate it.”
What wonderful dialogue. It’s a little hard to read by yourself! Act 1, Scene 1 begins just like Stereophonic — and while watching Stereophonic live it’s easier to follow along, if I had just simply read it on the page first, boy, would that be tough to follow. The rhythm of this play is important, and you really fall into its groove when it turns into effective two-hander scenes (for the most part).
“Do I?”
“What.”
“Glow.”
Beat.
Glad to have read this play! I’d love to watch it staged. Happy to have checked off another David Adjmi play, but the stimulus is because I’m writing a little paper on Adjmi for my Acting As a Profession class, and we need to have read at least two plays by the contemporary playwrights we’re writing on. Really grateful to have picked Adjmi now. What a voice! Now, bud, stop plagiarizing — take it from me, from someone who also loves to wear his influences on his sleeve! Lol, I kid, I kid. The Stereophonic case got settled, right?
February 25, 2025
4f, 2m - a lot of intersecting tragedies here, and in that complexity the initial theme (what I thought was going to be cultural conformity v. independence) gets subsumed, and at first reading clarity really breaks under the weight of it all. No one is all innocent (except maybe the 16 yo child bride) - for some reason, it felt like the story wanted to end in a different place? Does anyone else get disenchanted as soon as a gun is introduced?
I always take issue with survival tactics and characters put in enduringly precarious situations. Whoever plays Blanche has got to bring a LOT of challenging character choices together (SPOILER: if you’re on the run, wouldn’t you not call the abusive gigantic man-of-the-house with an anger issue an idiot?) and while it can be done, it’s not so easy for the reader to put together without getting distracted with “why”, you know what I’m saying?
Some really lasting stage pictures here- getting waterboarded in white paint? A black woman no less? Oof.
When first produced, I’m sure it was big and “fresh”, but like other plays (thinking of fuddy meers among others) I’m not sure how this one would be received today. Some great scenes for very specific scene partners. I’m so sure Cristin Milioti slayed this part in 2009!
I always take issue with survival tactics and characters put in enduringly precarious situations. Whoever plays Blanche has got to bring a LOT of challenging character choices together (SPOILER: if you’re on the run, wouldn’t you not call the abusive gigantic man-of-the-house with an anger issue an idiot?) and while it can be done, it’s not so easy for the reader to put together without getting distracted with “why”, you know what I’m saying?
Some really lasting stage pictures here- getting waterboarded in white paint? A black woman no less? Oof.
When first produced, I’m sure it was big and “fresh”, but like other plays (thinking of fuddy meers among others) I’m not sure how this one would be received today. Some great scenes for very specific scene partners. I’m so sure Cristin Milioti slayed this part in 2009!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 13, 2017
Squanders a ton of potential. What starts as characters bursting with life—really new and exciting characters—gets pushed too far into melodrama and particularly mistreats its African American lead woman. First two acts lead somewhere interesting; third goes off rails.
July 9, 2017
So innovative and fresh. Love the characters and how it causes me to question love.
April 3, 2021
3.6 stars.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this play. It is very interesting and deals with interesting and important themes, including abuse of many forms.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this play. It is very interesting and deals with interesting and important themes, including abuse of many forms.
April 22, 2021
Gut-wrenching and beautiful - would love to see this performed some day.
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October 16, 20244pw, this was rlly good, my prof needs to stop trying to engage with me ab stereophonic
December 31, 2024
very very good!!! upsetting!!! how in the world does that paint scene work irl!
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August 2, 2011This play moves right from the start. But the ending feels a little disconnected and abrupt. For its size it covers a lot of diverse topics in an marginally familiar world.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews