Stick Fly

by Lydia R. Diamond

How well do you know your family? Your social class? Your race? Sensitive "Spoon" LeVay and his brother "Flip" see their weekend at the family home on Martha's Vineyard as a perfect opportunity to introduce their girlfriends to their upper class African American parents. Instead they stumble into a domestic powder keg that exposes secrets of prejudice, hypocrisy and adultery. This fantastic new play comes from the pen of one of the country's most provocative new playwrights!

Genres: Plays, Drama, Audiobook, Theatre, Fiction, Womens

1 pages, Audio CD

First published February 12, 2008

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Diamond's play Smart People: A Play, and she does fill a sorely needed niche of plays about upwardly mobile black people in affluent America. However, this, her only Broadway venture so far, not only veers too closely to sit-com in its rare moments of humor, but also overplays the dramatics. The supposedly 'shocking' family revelations are not only telegraphed very early on, but are so predictable and mundane as not to land with any real force. Still Diamond's characterizations and sharp dialogue at times, make this a readable and probably stage-worthy endeavor.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audioplay from LA Theatre Works. Stick Fly is an interesting, thought-provoking, and funny play that touches on great social and cultural issues while also being a solid family dramedy. The performances from the cast were solid. Definitely worth the read!

[Johanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for uni and I LOVED IT

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* for the play itself & 4* for this full cast digital audiobook.

Upper class African-American family dynamics during a weekend at Martha's Vineyard when the 2 sons bring home their girlfriends for the first time (one of whom is a WASP though Flip, the elder son, tells everyone before she arrives that she "isn't white, she's Italian"! .

[paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nailed it. Got me thinking all day long. Now I need to see it on stage.

[Rachel Pollock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zing! This play is full of serious interpersonal drama and socially relevant issues, and it also has some pretty hilarious dialogue/confrontations.

[Claire Gratto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lydia R. Diamond does it again ‼️

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow-I feel so much better about my own dysfunctional family after reading this amazing play. Fascinating and tough discussions and relationship questions, societal implications-this is just chock full of great insight-beautifully wrapped up in a family trip to the Vineyard. Taylor and Cheryl are two of the best written and juicy female parts I've read in a while. Having met the author ever so briefly a couple of years ago-I was thrilled to be able to read this beautiful piece.

[Gil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stick Fly
By: Lydia Diamond
Narrated by: Justine Bateman, Dule Hill, Michole Briana White, et. al.
Length: 1 hr and 50 mins
Published February 1st 2008 by LA Theatre Works

In my latest trend of reading/listening to plays I've been trying to find some that are timely and have a theme that would reflect the current themes we've been forced too endure for the wreck of a year that was 2020. One of those themes is race relations. This play at first seemed to cover this but had a bit of a twist. The race relations are within a single upper-class African-American family. It wasn't quite what I was looking for but it was entertaining none-the-less.

One of the features of this performance that kept me going even though I soon discovered it wasn't what I was looking for was that it was yet another example of the outstanding productions from L.A. Theatre Works. The actors are top notch and the production once again will place the listener in the middle of the audience in a great theatrical performance.

I think one of the funniest parts is that one of the brothers (Flip) brings his girlfriend to the family home and before she arrives tells everyone she's Italian. I got the feeling that Flip was a bit conscientious about the fact his girlfriend is white, so to prepare the family he keeps saying she is Italian when someone says she's white. Flip's family members are all highly education people and when the girlfriend arrives, they all speak to her in Italian. This makes for an awkward hilarious scene.

As for the rest of the story, it finds that there is more to the family than the surface reveals. Strap in for the second half, that's when all secrets are revealed and well I kinda wonder whether this family is strong enough to endure the devastating secrets. I won't go into too much detail because of spoilers, and I really think this play needs to be experienced for one's self not just a simple review/summary.

Review: entertaining, funny, tragic and worth the two hours spent listening.

[Brittany Petruzzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to my job, I have encountered many an “Important“ play confronting social issues. Among those, this is one of the best. Still, that’s not saying all that much. At least it has a more interesting story driven by characters that had more than two dimensions, Beyond the cherry picked for political convenience.

Still, it’s refreshing to see a play written by and about black people that touches primarily on the middle to upper-class range of socio economic classes. Docked for excessive use of language and unnecessary sexual shenanigans.

[Rory Collins · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really expected to enjoy this play after reading only one scene of it initially, but I was a bit disappointed. All the characters felt very one dimensional and all had very cliche ways of speaking about each individual issue brought up. The “shocking” parts of the story were quite visible from the beginning and very obvious/cliche as well, so it did not feel like a complete story was being told. Maybe it’s better on stage, but the writing portion of the play almost feels like it is written by a high schooler.

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars
This play was really thought provoking and brought up so many great points about race and class. The characters all seemed very real, though at times things felt very heightened. I also was waiting for the mother who never showed up (how she fit into the dynamic that had been created) though I suppose that's how it's supposed to make you feel.

[margot · Rating 4 out of 5]

For THE 141. Satisfyingly messy and dramatic, with some interesting meditations on privilege and class that, contrary to what some other reviews say, feel very realistic to me for an intellectually-minded circle.

[Kayley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Something about this play doesn't rub against me the right way. It feels like I just got back from a holiday with my family that loves to bicker and argue a lot.

[Brian McCann · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting premise with some interesting rhythms to its voice. I like the title, but wonder if the metaphor is too contrived. I think this one is better experienced onstage.

[Shawn Aebi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superlative play. Strong willed characters, funny, painful, thoughtful, everything a play is supposed to be.

[princeyrose · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genuinely a very interesting play and a great commentary on privilege of all kinds. This was excellent

[Isá · Rating 5 out of 5]

Family secrets come to life in this engaging, modern drama. Filled with secrets, passion and truth based on the povs of so many.

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

The dynamics of the family was very interesting to read. Great story

[marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was great, rly good dialogue & drama

[Sarah Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 well written
Would have been 5 stars if not for some predictability

[Christine Baptiste · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh how I wish I could have seen this on broadway. I think I felt every emotion in the last 2 hours. It was rich family drama told with a comedic twist. Highly recommend.

[Lizzy Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

So many beautiful beats in this soap opera esque drama. But also very funny and natural in the low, uncomfortable moments. A very enjoyable read!

[James Carmichael · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's of course funny to just _read_ a play, since that's not precisely wut playz r 4. But, having only read it...I liked this play very much! I see why it got the reviews it got (very good); it's 'sharp' and it's funny and the dialog frequently snaps; it explores familiar tropes of race and class with novelty and human engagement in credible characters; it has a satisfyingly old-fashioned sense of plot unfurlment and "dramatic revelation of past truths".

It's a really well-built play, and a snappily written one, and I hope I get to see it someday.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another unhappy family unhappy in their own way. I also listened to the Audible version. This was an engaging play with powerful performances that tackled race, gender, and class in tangible ways. It was funny at times, sad at others, but always entertaining and I walked away from it with plenty to think about. It's well worth the 2 hour listen.

[Gianna Mosser · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have so much respect for Lydia Diamond, and what she did with The Bluest Eye started my fandom. But I wanted to meet the mother in this play and she never showed up. And I felt that Taylor was overemotionalized in a way that I didn't think a bug scientist would be. For those reasons, I never really embraced the premise.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saw the play--it was excellent. The first act is maybe a little heavy on philosophical discussion of racism and classism, but the second act is all about family relationships, although the conflicts are definitely steeped in issues of race and class.

[Read In Colour · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this because Audible offered it free for Black History Month. Such a great play. The actors and the story line were superb. I never gave much thought to "listening" to plays, but I'm definitely planning to do it again.

[Dina_s · Rating 3 out of 5]

Temporarily banned from using the computer, iPad and reading physical books as a result of an eye injury, I have discovered the wonderful world of audio books and play readings. An engaging production with much food for thought. Three and a half stars.