Congrats to winner: Cindy
As my regular readers know, I love the theater. That’s why I was delighted when I received two preview tickets for Lincoln Center Theater’s fall play Broke-ology. I took a girlfriend with me, because it wasn’t my husband’s “thing”. I am so glad that we went though because it ended up being such a compelling piece.
The first act did not grab my attention at all. In fact at the end of it, I thought, “Oh no! This is going to end up being a stage version of Good Times!” (The play begins with a young Black couple pregnant with their first child. They are poor, but they are sharing their hopes and dreams for their future and that of their child.) I looked at my friend to see what she thought. During intermission, she shared that she had been thinking along those lines also.
From the second act until the end of the play, Broke-ology was fully engaging. I’ll write about themes of the play. (If I write about the details of the actual plot, it will kind of ruin the experience for you.) First of all, the name of the play Broke-ology is a word that one of the sons in the play comes up with to define “the science of being broke”. As such, the show involves being stuck in a cycle of poverty. Despite the initial dreams of the young couple, their family is still stuck in poverty decades later. That brings me to the second issue – being “stuck”. I found it very interesting to see that the entire audience (which was very diverse and filled with people from various economic backgrounds) could relate to this theme as portrayed on stage by a Black family of four. Then – come to think of it – I am not. Who hasn’t felt stuck at some point in life? Stuck: stuck in a job; stuck at home with the kids; stuck in an unforeseeable life situation; stuck with an illness – those are the same the issues addressed in the play. Lastly, the issue of life choices – whether you choose to do what is best for you personally or you choose fulfilling family obligations. It’s not an easy choice and there are no definitive right/wrong answers. That’s what makes those type of choices so gut-wrenchingly hard. Making such choices was the primary plot of this piece. The outcome – sad and sweet at the same time. (Let’s just say that I left the theater in tears.) That’s life sometimes though…some major life decisions don’t have easy answers.
Below is a short clip of the play:
In any event, if you live in (and or will be visiting) the NYC area, I definitely recommend that you go to see this play. Here’s the fun part. One lucky Mom in the City reader will win two tickets to see Broke-ology. To win, please share a time/situation in your life when you felt “stuck” in a situation in the “Comments” section below by October 31st.
The giveaway and review tickets were provided by Broke-ology.
