←Recommendations of THE PLATYPODES

This play moves breathtakingly fast but still does a fine job of fully developing the characters and relationships. The pace sweeps you along and you genuinely get to understand the people, the story, and the achingly difficult choices they face.

This is a huge, sprawling play - a drama of scope, both in its subject matter and its deep understanding. If you are looking for a play that sweeps your audience up and carries them along on an emotional ride, I recommend reading this one. Mid-size cast, with some powerful roles for strong actors.

Wyndham has created a story of a very personal choice that moves with an exciting pace and a mix of characters not normally thrown into this kind of plot. Allegra has a rich and complexly human life and has to weigh so many things that it seems almost impossible to put herself first. A play about the struggle between what the world thinks you should do and listening to your own truths. A casting challenge, but wonderfully worthwhile piece.

ALLEGRA GRAY treats the protagonist's decision to either keep or abort a pregnancy as a very personal drama: As a local celebrity, she is forced not only consider how her decision will affect her family, but her career, and ability to live in her city, as she becomes the target both of well-wishers and advocacy groups unafraid to engage in public shaming. Wyndham's play avoids simple moralizing, rather dealing with how individuals must navigate the myriad balance ethical demands they can only face on their own.

Riveting. An extremely difficult topic handled with realism and wit. Allegra is a fantastic character for actresses "of a certain age" She's complex, profane and driven, but you root for her. She's a beautifully drawn woman, very layered and nuanced. The character of Vito has Down Syndrome. The playwright asks for the character to be cast with an actor who also has Downs. In doing so he has given the role of a lifetime to that actor. Vito is fully rounded, never "cute". And so, so believable.