Dot by Colman Domingo

There is nothing in the script that explicitly states that lines written in all capital letters are to be shouted, but just reading all those CAPITALS made me feel as if the script was yelling at me. The implied volume combined with the frenetic pace, everyone talking over each other, and the endless misunderstandings make this show feel like it wants to be a farce (and why anything would want to be a farce is beyond me). At the same time, however, it uses the easy emotional hit of a parent with dementia to try to pluck heart-strings. At this point, I feel like dementia falls into the same category as the AIDS epidemic--so thoroughly addressed in theater that it is difficult to come up with compelling new ways to approach it. In general, I am a firm believer in the need for a few laughs in a heavy drama, but combining cheap humor with cheap emotion adds up only to a cheesy show.