BWW Reviews: WARREN (OR) THOSE PEOPLE Will Make you Think and Question

When I go to a theatre to do a review, I actually try not to read anything beforehand so I do not get any preconceived notions. I was unable to see this during opening weekend so I saw it the following weekend. I am glad I did not know what to expect, it was so much more than anything I have read since.

When you walk into the theatre you are greeted by a set that is like an aquarium lined with green tile. It was instantaneously identifiable as an aquarium and a wonderful nod to the Belle Isle Aquarium in Detroit where the first scene and a few others take place. Michael Hartwell did a remarkable job in giving the set the feel and colors of the original aquarium.

From the opening speech we learn that there is going to be an intermission for this play, which is a little unusual for a Boise Contemporary Theater production. But we find out that it is so what has happened has a chance to sink in and gives us, the audience, a chance to talk out what might be happening. We cannot begin to guess at what was about to happen or how it was going to affect us.

WARREN (OR) THOSE PEOPLE was a two man show starring newcomer to Boise, Peggy Cosgrove and Dwayne Blackaller. The talent on the stage was wonderful to watch and I did not miss the fact that there weren't any other actors on stage, they held my attention and gained my empathy. From the reaction of the entire audience, they gained everyone's empathy. I know I was choked up by the end and many eyes were glistening.

Playwright, Brian Quirk was genius in the way he wrote this play. The story of Rose, the woman who needs someone to work around her home and check in on her because she is getting sick, but she is afraid to live in a hospice. And Dano who has recently lost his job, is on the spectrum of autism and needs to find work. The relationship that grows between the two was a wonderful dance of life. And all dances come to an end. The end of this particular dance will take you by surprise, but it is such a beautiful dance.

I would definitely recommend this show to anyone who has the opportunity to see it. It is a show that brings up some uncomfortable topics, but in a way that makes them approachable. It gives us all something to talk about and isn't that what good theatre is about?

(*This play was developed with the help of Seven Devils Playwrighting Conference.)

Photo Credit: Deborah Hardee

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