Theater Thursdays - The Pool Plays 3.0

We were given complimentary tickets to the Pool Plays 3.0 for review purposes. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own. 

What: The Pool Plays 3.0

Where: 59E659 Theatres

             59 E. 59 St.

             New York, NY

Who: Recommended for Ages 16 and Up 

When: Through October 28, 2023

The Pool Plays 3.0 is a collection of three one-act plays each written by a different playwright all revolving around a specific marginalized group and the concept of identity. 

The first is The Berlin Diaries by Andrea Stolowitz. This is an autobiographical play that revolves around the playwright's search for family in the wake of the Holocaust. It is a tightly written show which has two performers both playing the same parts at the same time and switching in and out of each character at a moment's notice. Frequently one actor starts a line, and the other finishes it. It may seem like this would be quite confusing. but it really isn't.  The two actors, Rebecca S'Manga Frank and David Greenspan do a great job of keeping the momentum going and maintaining the flow of the show. Their performances are excellent.

The second is Antiquated F*ckery by Jessica Charles. Don't let the title scare you away from this exceptionally written play that focuses on how hard it is to be black in today's society when you are simultaneously faulted for appearing too black and not black enough. Kare:n_Eilbacher and Davon Williams portray the two characters struggling with this dilemma. This show is also extremely well written and the performances are also excellent.

The final play is Two Brown Porters by Naren Weiss. This show is about the oppression of British rule in India in the 1850s and how significant objects are tied up with one's national identity. It examines to what lengths one should go to keep those objects from being removed from the country. This is another well-written show with more excellent performances from Sathya Sridharan and Omar Maskati who appear respectively as the man grappling with this dilemma and in a variety of different roles.

The three shows are currently running in repertory. Each show runs about an hour and a half and tickets can be purchased separately. 

And that's our view. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit 59e59.org/shows/show-detail/pool-plays-30.

Tune in Sunday for this week's Sunday Scoop.

Photo credits:

All the Pool Plays 3.0 production photos by Helen Hylton

Images used in this post have been sent to us from publicists, artists, and/or  PR firms.
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