QUICK REVIEW: “EXIT STRATEGY” LOOKS AT A DOOMED SCHOOL
Guest blogger Susan Klonsky reviews Exit Strategy
If there has been another theater piece about the impact of school closings, I haven’t heard about it. Ike Holter’s “Exit Strategy” at Jackalope Theater takes place entirely in the teachers’ lounge of a dilapidated Chicago school slated for closing.
There are dazzling moments in this play but I won’t be the spiller of plot twists. The intensity and passion of the small cast is impressive. Each character is a composite of archetypal school personalities which play, for better or for worse, to certain stereotypes, with what one hopes is satirical intent. There’s Feisty Black Woman, Closeted Gay Administrator, Fiery Latina, Angry Old Burnt-out White guy. The politics of school closings are not the focus of the drama; nor are the inequities of school closings. This drama turns upon the human toll on the teachers, students and even an administrator, as they learn that their school will close at the end of the year. Time is running out. Can they fight? Should they fight? How to fight? As the reality becomes clear, each reacts differently.
Donnie, an outstanding student, a senior, militant and intellectually dazzling, gets into trouble for his efforts to save his beloved school. He’s trying to raise $5000 to demonstrate to the public that the school is valued. Should he be suspended for trespassing on the official website? The discussion among the adults of what to do about Donnie reveals a menu of Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: QUICK REVIEW: “EXIT STRATEGY” LOOKS AT A DOOMED SCHOOL: