Roy Berko
According to the program notes, Dot, the fulcrum around which the plot circulates, “represents the next generation of freedom fighters who refuse to be restricted by binaries and demand that we acknowledge their full humanity in all its complexity.” Oh, if that were only true, and the playwright made this clearer in her writing. As is, I doubt whether that erudite message was what many in the audience garnered from the presentation.
To see a full review of this show, read Roy Berko's blog here.
Mark Horning
If you are looking for a bit of something different with hard hitting social commentary, look no further. This is an entertaining two hours with a profound message and a magnifying microcosm of the Black/White situation in Cleveland and the world both past and present. Come to the show and be enlightened.
To see a full review of this show, read Mark Horning's Review here.
Chris Howey
The Breakfast at the Bookstore, carries a powerful message about the ways people in Cleveland's Black community were seeking sustenance—physically, mentally and spiritually—back in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
To see a full review of this show, read Chris Howey's Review here.
Yuko Kurahashi
Though The Breakfast at the Bookstore is packed with so many ideas—feminism, transgenderism, Black nationalism, Afrofuturism, and today’s activism, what comes back at the end of the show is “Free Breakfast.” A free breakfast program was started by the Black nationalist party in the late 1960s to nourish children—both their bodies and souls. The “bookstore” was the venue that the Black activists used to educate and solidify their followers. Many Black-owned bookstore owners became the targets of the police and FBI harassment.
To see a full review of this show, read Yuko Kurahashi's review here.
