Mohammad’s Radio

I enjoyed the reading much more than I originally thought I would. I mean, how entertaining is it to see a bunch of people just sit there and read the play? Well, I was wrong. Most of the actors brought depth and personality to the characters of the play, depth that is lost when you read the play yourself. The woman who played Alice was phenomenal. She brought the frustration, confusion, and helplessness of Alice’s situation to life, even going as far as to cry during the final scene, which was very powerful. I also loved who played Terry; his voice boomed and echoed with the pervasive bigotry of Gerritsen beach. He commanded the stage. Little Joe, Allie, and Joe were excellent as well. Who I didn’t like so much, though, was Kelly. Granted each actor brought their own interpretation to the characters they played, I didn’t care for Kelly’s character in this reading. She came off as purely recalcitrant, obnoxious, and rude, all seemingly unjustified. She is standoffish from the start. I didn’t imagine Kelly would be this way; I felt Kelly would be more serene, spiritual, and passionate. Overall though, this reading showed how powerful and moving Mohammed’s Radio can be, when performed. I hope to see it staged soon, preferably at Brooklyn! Something else I really liked was the Q&A at the end, where the playwright answered all of our burning questions. I loved how he provided insight into the making of the play and what he intended to mean with each character. This added even another layer of depth. I feel that Mohammed’s Radio is going to be an excellent show.