Off the Record: Acts of Restorative Justice Off-Broadway Reviews

Ultimately this provocative but pessimistic show also indicts the community itself for passive acceptance – as someone so conditioned to going in the back door that when “seeing no back door he makes one for himself.” Still, there’s someth...

Ultimately this provocative but pessimistic show also indicts the community itself for passive acceptance – as someone so conditioned to going in the back door that when “seeing no back door he makes one for himself.” Still, there’s something potentially productive in gathering in these points of view, these experiences, this history in a communal, and sometimes slightly confrontational, artistic setting. For my part, as a “white” person I gleaned as much from the responses from the audience as from what was happening on stage – which was a lot.

What the play did give me was the immense feeling of how daunting this problem is. Knowledge, knowing, and acknowledgment are worth something, but the next step towards action from there is almost a journey to the moon. I was forced to address the id...

What the play did give me was the immense feeling of how daunting this problem is. Knowledge, knowing, and acknowledgment are worth something, but the next step towards action from there is almost a journey to the moon. I was forced to address the idea of being an activist for a cause that I believe in, and what I would have to give to act with my convictions. The feeling of, “I’m only one person” doesn’t hold much water after this show. Prepare to be challenged. “The real question is – do you want tomorrow to look like yesterday, or do you want tomorrow to look like something else?”