Stick Fly

Really, really good. It's been a long time since I've read a play where the characters felt so complete and real right off the page. I had no issue picturing these characters as actual people.Lydia R. Diamond's writing is impressive and intellectual, navigating the highs and lows of a well-off African-American family during their stay at a lakeside vacation home. The character's are very well-educated, and some would say snobby about it, almost to the point of hilarity. The reader sits back and enjoys Diamond's creative process, and has a good laugh or two in the process.Though the climax may not carry the emotional heft it was intended to carry, the aftermath is the real payoff. Good writing and a hearty understanding of people makes for a good play.

Needed it for school, perfect condition.

This is a great play. I would rate this a PG15 for some strong sexual language. But overall, I think this is an amazing play with great themes and struggles.

Very good play. Sort I missed it on Broadway but the book/play was very good. Bert well written.

I wish I could've seen this on Broadway but this play is amazing! I think everyone can identify with a character in some way.The Broadway production has an amazing cast Tracie,Rueben,Mekhi,Dule,Rosie,and congratulations to Condola for receiving the Tony nomination! I hope this comes out on DVD or something. But I recommend everyone should purchase this.

Lit

Great play by a great playwright

Several friends of mine saw Stick Fly on broadway, and they came away with favorable reviews. I didn't have the opportunity to see it on stage, but I looked forward to reading it. Sadly, I was disappointed when I finished it. Lisa Diamond touches on many complex topics about race, class, colorism, and gender, but she doesn't flesh any of them out. One of the characters, Taylor, has an outburst about white liberalism, but she just comes off as angry and raving. None of the other characters follow up on the very valid points she raises, and the topic is dropped. The father, a neurosurgeon, makes sympathetic noises when Taylor raves, but he doesn't explore his own experiences. To do so would have added an important dimension to the racial experiences of blacks in America, namely, that no matter how successful they become they will always encounter whites who will attempt to diminish their humanity in some way - even if those attempts are not intended to do so. For example, the father might have talked about being mistaken for a caddy at a golf course - or something of that nature. Moreover, the tension between the brothers is palpable but again it goes largely unexplored. The character with the most potential for plumbing the depths is Cheryl (she is at the crossroads of all the major themes of the play), but her issues are superficially handled and she is not well used throughout. I can't help but wonder how much more texture the play would have if the maid, Ms. Ellie, and the mother had been brought into the story incarnate rather than just talked about.