can i touch it?, Rogue Machine at the Matrix Theatre

Scott Victor Nelson, Iesha Daniels, Safiya Fredericks and Suzen Baraka. Photo by Jeff Lorch.

Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw.

Show me a play about a working woman who pits her strength and smarts against predatory banks, and you’ll have me rooting for it, and her, from the start.

Directed by Gregg T. Daniel, francisca da silveira’s can i touch it?, a rolling premiere at Rogue Machine, features all the ingredients for this kind of arresting conflict, including actors with talent and presence.  One of the play’s two central themes is the struggle of African American women for dignity and respect in the eyes of the rest of us — a struggle that firstly demands their own acknowledgement of their worth and talent, followed by apologies to no one, ever. That message sure does give the play a lot of punch — yet despite these dual thematic strengths, the production doesn’t crackle and pop quite as much as it could. Read more….