RUINED at MTC's Stage I

(Seen 2/19/09)

Playwright Lynn Nottage has written the best play of this season, and director Kate Whoriskey has befittingly given it a striking visual and emotional life.

A contemporary play, RUINED is set in the midst of the civil war in the Congo. It explores the lives of a group of characters passing through a brothel/bar run by a strong-willed woman who has endured all kinds of human struggles.

She is both ruthless and nurturing to the women she employs, and to her military and rebel and civilian patrons. Backstories for Nottage's main characters are expertly revealed as we follow their tortured existence and survival.

A totally involved ensemble cast creates fine dramatic and musical portrayals. The play brings a disturbing and realistic political situation to life on stage.