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Lucy (Library Edition Audio CDs)
In a thought-provoking new play, 13 year old Lucy, who suffers from autism, moves in with her estranged, misanthropic mother. Having lived her entire life with her father, Lucy, as well as her mom, struggle with all the difficulties of such an arrangement. " A complicated and thoughtful piece" says NYtheatre.com A full-cast production featuring: Lucy DeVito, Roxanne Hart, Geoffrey Lower, Sarah Rafferty and Raphael Sbarge.
1 pages, Audio CD
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 9, 2017
This... Didn't really have a good plot. The story would have benefited with a little more direction.
January 14, 2020
Lucy
By: Damien Atkins
Narrated by: Lucy DeVito, Roxanne Hart, Geoffrey Lower, Sarah Rafferty, Raphael Sbarge
Length: 2 hrs and 3 mins
Performance
Release date: 02-02-10
Publisher: L.A. Theatre Works
I have recently found myself exploring books and stories that deal with the human condition in relation to disabilities. Not sure why this is but it just seems to wind up on my listening/reading list this way. I've gotta get back to my sci-fi reading soon. Until then I will explore humanity. This time around the story revolves around autism and how it affects the family.
Never having had to deal with anyone in the spectrum, I really have no point of reference on this. I do know people with autism and friends with autistic children, but I have never had to experience this first hand. That being said understand that this review will not consist of how the story addresses autism but rather how the story is told.
One thing to note is that this is an L.A. Theatre Works production and that the performance is beautiful. The acting and performance as a whole is stellar. I have never had a bad experience with any LATW production.
Lucy is a 13 year old who has autism. She has lived all her life with her father but at 13 there are certain things puberty brings that the father doesn't think he's capable of handling. So he leaves Lucy with her mother. This part of the story was a bit sketchy for me, but it was necessary for the rest of the play to continue. I just couldn't see a dad pretty much abandoning his child. Sure, it was with her mother but the mother was out of the picture for nearly all of those 13 years.
As the rest of the story goes, Lucy's mom struggles with learning how to deal with the schedules and emotions of a child with autism. The mother also begins to obsess over her guilt of not being there for Lucy. Soon Lucy's mother, who is an anthropologist begins to theorize that autism is the next step in the evolutionary process of humanity. So much so that she makes this the subject of a book that has been in demand for some time from her publisher. The problem is she starts letting Lucy do what she wants, pretty much, and Lucy's welfare comes into question.
What I found most interesting in this performance were the insights where the playwright gave Lucy monologues in which she could step out of her own brain and express her normality. I was intrigued by these and at the same time emotionally stirred.
Nice performance but I see some holes in the story.
Publisher's Summary
In a thought-provoking new play, 13 year old Lucy, who suffers from autism, moves in with her estranged, misanthropic mother. Having lived her entire life with her father, Lucy, as well as her mom, struggle with all the difficulties of such an arrangement.
An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Lucy DeVito, Roxanne Hart, Geoffrey Lower, Sarah Rafferty and Raphael Sbarge.
Lucy is part of L.A. Theatre Works’ Relativity Series featuring science-themed plays. Major funding for the Relativity Series is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to enhance public understanding of science and technology in the modern world.
©2009 L.A. Theatre Works (P)2009 L.A. Theatre Works
By: Damien Atkins
Narrated by: Lucy DeVito, Roxanne Hart, Geoffrey Lower, Sarah Rafferty, Raphael Sbarge
Length: 2 hrs and 3 mins
Performance
Release date: 02-02-10
Publisher: L.A. Theatre Works
I have recently found myself exploring books and stories that deal with the human condition in relation to disabilities. Not sure why this is but it just seems to wind up on my listening/reading list this way. I've gotta get back to my sci-fi reading soon. Until then I will explore humanity. This time around the story revolves around autism and how it affects the family.
Never having had to deal with anyone in the spectrum, I really have no point of reference on this. I do know people with autism and friends with autistic children, but I have never had to experience this first hand. That being said understand that this review will not consist of how the story addresses autism but rather how the story is told.
One thing to note is that this is an L.A. Theatre Works production and that the performance is beautiful. The acting and performance as a whole is stellar. I have never had a bad experience with any LATW production.
Lucy is a 13 year old who has autism. She has lived all her life with her father but at 13 there are certain things puberty brings that the father doesn't think he's capable of handling. So he leaves Lucy with her mother. This part of the story was a bit sketchy for me, but it was necessary for the rest of the play to continue. I just couldn't see a dad pretty much abandoning his child. Sure, it was with her mother but the mother was out of the picture for nearly all of those 13 years.
As the rest of the story goes, Lucy's mom struggles with learning how to deal with the schedules and emotions of a child with autism. The mother also begins to obsess over her guilt of not being there for Lucy. Soon Lucy's mother, who is an anthropologist begins to theorize that autism is the next step in the evolutionary process of humanity. So much so that she makes this the subject of a book that has been in demand for some time from her publisher. The problem is she starts letting Lucy do what she wants, pretty much, and Lucy's welfare comes into question.
What I found most interesting in this performance were the insights where the playwright gave Lucy monologues in which she could step out of her own brain and express her normality. I was intrigued by these and at the same time emotionally stirred.
Nice performance but I see some holes in the story.
Publisher's Summary
In a thought-provoking new play, 13 year old Lucy, who suffers from autism, moves in with her estranged, misanthropic mother. Having lived her entire life with her father, Lucy, as well as her mom, struggle with all the difficulties of such an arrangement.
An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Lucy DeVito, Roxanne Hart, Geoffrey Lower, Sarah Rafferty and Raphael Sbarge.
Lucy is part of L.A. Theatre Works’ Relativity Series featuring science-themed plays. Major funding for the Relativity Series is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to enhance public understanding of science and technology in the modern world.
©2009 L.A. Theatre Works (P)2009 L.A. Theatre Works
December 1, 2018
What if autism isn't something to be corrected, but the way in which our species is surviving in a poisoned world? What if autism isn't a disability, but the future of mankind?
This topic is explored from the perspective of an anthropologist who herself is on the spectrum. She never felt like she had a mothering instinct, and so moved away from her husband and newly born daughter to focus on her career. After 13 years away from them, her ex-husband shows up asking her to take Lucy to a school that could help her and help her as she goes through puberty.
After much pleading, she finally accepts but finds it difficult trying to control her child. She argued with the doctors about the relevance of mercury in vaccines, and decided that she had found the answer herself. We have poisoned our environment so much, she says, the evolution has adapted us to move away from the entirety of civilization and back to the basics. Autism is an evolutionary success story that allows us to live away from our current, civilized world.
Brilliantly told by the mother and asides from Lucy herself, we discover that there is meaning to Lucy's inner world that the audience learns but the parents never understand. She explains why she likes spinning and what colors mean to her, and many of her behaviors are explained by the doctor. The dialogue between the doctors and the mother is a very real and educated one, with both sides being accurately presented. I was impressed by the intelligence of this conversation. The mom eventually realizes her mistake in missing so much of her daughter's life.
I felt like the play was inconclusive. Lucy is asked to choose between living freely in Africa with her mom, who thinks she doesn't need therapy and needs to stay away from the rest of the world with her, and her father, who clearly loves her and doesn't want her to move away. It appears that she chooses her mother by smearing white paint on her face, but it is not clear. It is not clear whether or not the father fought this or went along with it. I would like to see what happens after the end of this play.
This topic is explored from the perspective of an anthropologist who herself is on the spectrum. She never felt like she had a mothering instinct, and so moved away from her husband and newly born daughter to focus on her career. After 13 years away from them, her ex-husband shows up asking her to take Lucy to a school that could help her and help her as she goes through puberty.
After much pleading, she finally accepts but finds it difficult trying to control her child. She argued with the doctors about the relevance of mercury in vaccines, and decided that she had found the answer herself. We have poisoned our environment so much, she says, the evolution has adapted us to move away from the entirety of civilization and back to the basics. Autism is an evolutionary success story that allows us to live away from our current, civilized world.
Brilliantly told by the mother and asides from Lucy herself, we discover that there is meaning to Lucy's inner world that the audience learns but the parents never understand. She explains why she likes spinning and what colors mean to her, and many of her behaviors are explained by the doctor. The dialogue between the doctors and the mother is a very real and educated one, with both sides being accurately presented. I was impressed by the intelligence of this conversation. The mom eventually realizes her mistake in missing so much of her daughter's life.
I felt like the play was inconclusive. Lucy is asked to choose between living freely in Africa with her mom, who thinks she doesn't need therapy and needs to stay away from the rest of the world with her, and her father, who clearly loves her and doesn't want her to move away. It appears that she chooses her mother by smearing white paint on her face, but it is not clear. It is not clear whether or not the father fought this or went along with it. I would like to see what happens after the end of this play.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 22, 2022
Interesting look at 'normality' and societal expectation—Lucy falls outside the bounds of both, which is hard for her estranged mother, Vivian, to process, but when Vivian starts to see the ways in which they are similar rather than the ways in which they are different, it turns Vivian's world upside-down.
I appreciate how much we see of Lucy's perspective here, though I'm not in a position to judge accuracy. Other than that...it's not a standout (good or bad) for me, and I will leave this at a short review.
I appreciate how much we see of Lucy's perspective here, though I'm not in a position to judge accuracy. Other than that...it's not a standout (good or bad) for me, and I will leave this at a short review.
October 21, 2023
Autism research has advanced quite a bit since 2009, so there are some things in this play that don't quite track with how people experience autism today, but it remains an interesting play that centers engaging women dealing with big questions. I'm here for that!
June 20, 2020
It drove me crazy how the scientists misused the term "theory" when they should have been using the term hypothesis.
Want to read
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May 8, 2024
Didn’t like the ending and I didn’t like the way Vivian borderline neglected her child, but other than that it was middle grade.
September 14, 2016
Excellent play that explores a scientific Mother's descent into obsession over guilt at leaving her autistic daughter in her ex-husband's care.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews