Last week I saw Laer’s Last Prayer, which was not put on by a specific company but rather was the writing and directing project of one man, Stephen F. Murray. I find it difficult to review such personal projects (Like The Untangling at the Junction a few weeks ago), because any negative feedback seems particularly pointed since there’s one person bearing so much of the responsibility. Here’s an excerpt:

Stephen F. Murray’s “Laer’s Last Prayer” is a found poem made up of “King Lear,” “Twelfth Night,” biblical passages, and nursery rhymes. Laer (Elliott Fredland) reigns from a wheelchair, a senile old man tended to by his resentful son, Jack (Nick Lake), and his eager to please doctor, Kent (Brian Hurst).

You can read the rest of the review here.

I liked the idea of the play more than the actual execution. I tried to get at that a bit in the review by talking about the disconnect between absurdism and emotion. Any theater people out there want to tell me if that disconnect is ever bridged in Beckett-ish plays, or if the gap is purposeful?