Until The Flood Reviews
Stage and Cinema- Recommended
"...Until the Flood lasts only 70 minutes. But its concentrated running time delivers a devastating drama. A ton of truth-telling now on tour at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, this 2016 one-act is the creation of actor, poet and oral historian Dael Orlandersmith. She becomes the partisans, witnesses, survivors and, above all, inhabitants of a town that epitomizes America's divides: Ferguson, Missouri."
LA Splash- Recommended
"...Written and performed by Dael Orlandersmith, UNTIL THE FLOOD was commissioned by the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis to explore a community in turmoil following the shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Orlandersmith did extensive interviews with residents across the greater St. Louis area to gain insight into a community torn by trauma and controversy. Drawing from the interviews, she discovered a wide range of perspectives and experiences reflected in attitudes and values surrounding issues of race and policing policies."
On Stage Los Angeles- Somewhat Recommended
"...In fairness, it's important to note that the actor's words do, indeed, tell her stories, but the virtual dearth of movement made it difficult to stay politely awake. Theatre requires action and interaction: invigorated movement to advance ideas forward. Had director Neel Keller prompted more robust action: more frequent, even volatile projections with bursts of sounds to underscore Orlandersmith's text, this important presentation may have been elevated well beyond her words."
Cultural Weekly- Highly Recommended
"...It is this balance and depth of intuition that makes Until the Flood compelling. Orlandersmith's work displays a deep acceptance of flawed human frailty and the helpless contradictions in all people. Until the Flood escalates in power and vision, ending on a poetic riff that is at once an unanswer, a lament for the state of affairs - and a way of saying, "you decide...""
KCRW- Recommended
"...I can only imagine that in 2016 when the play opened at the St. Louis Rep a mere 14 miles south of Ferguson - this release of pressure was essential and as necessary as the anger and fear Ms. Orlandersmith captured. The audience likely needed these interludes to process and to hear. I wonder if we need them in 2020? I know we need Ms. Orlandersmith's performance but in the 4 years since she first brought this show to life, I wonder if we've seen enough to do without the distraction. I wonder if as an audience, as a country, we can hear what Ms. Orlandersmith's characters are trying to tell us?"
Stage Raw- Highly Recommended
"...The writing itself is simple, eloquent, straight-to-the-heart storytelling, best suited to an intimate venue. Some of the power of these stories may be lost to the audience member seated, as I was, a distance from the proscenium, where Orlandersmith's face -and the changes she undergoes as she shifts from one character to the next - are often too indistinct to be appreciated."