This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Oct. 17, 2012 - After more than two weeks of previews, “Falling” by local playwright Deanna Jent has garnered the ultimate affirmation: rave reviews from New York critics.
“Falling soars,” proclaimed the New York Post, calling it a “... heartfelt and nuanced family drama.” “... an unusually fine fusion of writing and talent” gushed Talkin’ Broadway.
A few critical notes appeared within the reviews but for the most part, it looks like “Falling” is a hit.
Jent, who wrote the play based on her own family’s struggle to love and live with an autistic son, debuted it last year on the local Mustard Seed Theatre company stage. So moved was St. Louis producer Terry Schnuck, that he took it to New York, where previews began Sept. 27 leading up to the Oct. 15 official opening at the Off-Broadway Minetta Lane Theatre.
Jent is thrilled with the New York reception of "Falling."
"I’m so pleased with the positive reviews, especially the ones that focus on how all the elements (design, directing, acting, writing) work together to tell the story," Jent wrote in an email. "This is an amazing team and I’m thrilled with the responses."
Among the opening-night audience members was Mustard Seed production manager Bess Moynihan, who worked with the local staging of “Falling.” The New York audience was clearly moved, according to Moynihan.
“The woman behind me couldn't even talk; she couldn’t even make words. And her daughter sitting next to her had been crying,” Moynihan said.
Yet, in Moynihan’s opinion, the story is more triumph than tragedy.
“It’s heart-wrenching,” Moynihan said. “But I know Deanna, I know the family and it doesn’t seem all that devastating; it’s just hard.”
(See also, what Post-Dispatch critic Judy Newmark wrote about the opening.)
