Events this Week

In a far corner of the internet, moderator “Haikumom” (aka Odessa Ortiz) leads a chat room for recovering drug addicts. From behind their screens, these individuals who might never encounter each other in real life — a student, an IRS-pusher, and a financier– forge a bond as strong as blood. Off the computer, however, in a Puerto Rican neighborhood in North Philly, Odessa Ortiz’s real-life family is falling apart. Her nephew, Elliot, has returned from Iraq both physically and emotionally broken. Her niece, Yaz, is unable to reconcile her identity as a North Philly girl from the barrio with her upper-crust, intellectual lifestyle. Her sister, who was the mother that Odessa could never be, is dying of cancer. Inventive and timely, “Water By The Spoonful” is a powerful, compassionate look at the meaning of family, and the burdens we must carry to protect it.

Winner! 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

“Quiara Alegría Hudes is a blazing talent…Her new play, WATER BY THE SPOONFUL, blazes with promise. Non-linear and fascinating, it is not easily followed but definitely worthy of both close attention and ultimate praise…Provocative and brimming with life.” —Talkin’ Broadway

“The play is a combination poem, prayer and app on how to cope in an age of uncertainty, speed and chaos. When cyber meets the real world, anger gives way to forgiveness and resistance becomes redemption; the heart of the play opens up and the waters flow freely.” —Variety.