By Kassandra Ramirez
11th Grade, High School of Leadership and Public Service

I’ve got to be honest — I thought that The Mountaintop was going to be a boring reenactment of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Wow, was I wrong.

Growing up, I was taught to view Dr. King as a person responsible for many wonderful changes in our country, but this play showed a side of him that textbooks don’t teach. Yes, he did help us to be more tolerant with each other, but he had his flaws as well. This play showed that just because someone does something extraordinary with their life doesn’t mean that they have to be perfect. ( Read more )

By Max Friedlich
11th Grade, Friends Seminary

In the new Broadway play Seminar, we are invited into the world of writers. Sounds nice, right? Actually, it’s an hour and a half of gruesome warfare between five different egos.

Four aspiring writers vie for the attention of their private writing teacher Leonard, who “teaches” by ripping each writer to shreds. Leonard is played by the extraordinary Alan Rickman, (Snape from Harry Potter), who presents a cruel demeanor with a more fragile side that has been hardened by rejection and failure.

Seminar reveals the emotional corruption that the pursuit of an artistic dream can cause. The characters are very well defined and have clear intentions. Some of the dialogue has a farcical quality, dueling with words, which is consistent with the play’s excellent sense of realism. ( Read more )

By Dalia Wolfson
12th Grade, Hunter College High School

Chinglish follows American businessman Daniel Cavanaugh as he sets out to make a sales pitch to the local cultural ministry in a small Chinese province. Cavanaugh meets resistance from the cultural minister, but his shrewd vice-secretary Xi Yan offers her assistance. Cavanaugh and Yan become both business and romantic partners, plotting their way through the Chinese bureaucracy, where relationships matter far more than legal dealings. ( Read more )