The reviews are in for Pillsbury House’s ‘Buzzer’
No doubt, the election of President Obama, the first black president in the country's history, marked a significant turning point for the U-S.
But many will tell you it's a bit early to talk about living in a "post-racial" America.
Pillsbury House's latest production, "Buzzer" explores the reality of the modern complexities of race through the lens of three people living together in a gentrifying neighborhood, and how the tensions outside affect their interior lives.
Critics unanimously endorse this play, calling it timely, important, and simultaneously hilarious and tragic. Read excerpts of the reviews below, or click on the links to read them in full.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
[image]
Namir Smallwood as Jackson and Sara A. Richardson as Suzy in the Pillsbury House Theatre production of 'Buzzer'
Photo by Michal Daniel
Politics onstage without a human, emotional core can turn into a boring polemic. Marry the two, however, and you can lead the audience into territory they wouldn't normally tread. Case in point, Tracey Scott Wilson's Buzzer, which is receiving its world premiere at the Pillsbury House Theatre. Wilson's script deals with issues swirling around race and gentrification head-on, but it truly makes its case with the thorny, complex relationships among the three characters.
[image]
Namir Smallwood as Jackson and Hugh Kennedy as Don in the Pillsbury House Theatre production of Buzzer
Photo by Michal Daniel
From Rohan Preston at the Star Tribune:
Director Marion McClinton's work in "Buzzer" is like that of a master DJ. He segues quickly and seamlessly between scenes while keeping everything and everyone in balance and in the groove... The acting is beautiful...In the end, "Buzzer" offers, through three characters, a sobering assessment of the difficulty of moving past history. The fraught, charged play is right on time.
[image]
Namir Smallwood as Jackson and Sara A. Richardson as Suzy in the Pillsbury House Theatre production of 'Buzzer'
Photo by Michal Daniel
From John Olive at HowWasTheShow.com:
If you're looking for straight-forward entertainment, you may wish to give this one a pass. But if you want something maddening and compelling, absorbing and enraging, something that will exhilarate you while it makes you queasy, well, Buzzer runs through March 18. Kudos to the producers at Pillsbury House for taking on this play.
[image]
Sara A. Richardson as Suzy and Hugh Kennedy as Don in the Pillsbury House Theatre production of Buzzer
Photo by Michal Daniel
From Jay Gabler at TC Daily Planet:
Buzzer achieves the kind of synthesis of personal and political that's inescapable in real life but is rarely found in fiction: these are three people just trying to live their lives, but issues of race and class shape the ground on which they move... It's an important and engaging look at the complexities of human relationships in a world where race doesn't mean what it used to, but where it's still enormously relevant.
Pillsbury House Theatre's "Buzzer" runs through March 18. Have you seen it? If so, what did you think?