Customer Reviews

Boy Gets Girl: A Play

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Gilman has said that she was inspired to write this play after being infuriated by THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY and the light way the movie handles stalking. It's typical that Hollywood excuses that behavior when the pov is the stalker's-- and this myth just further encourages men to think it's "romantic" to harass a woman. Gilman has a point.

Yes, this play is issue driven, but it is no Lifetime movie with a ready solution or a clear moral. We're as taken in as the overworked editor by the nice guy she meets on a blind date. His desperation to please is at first puppy-dog cute. The mental instability that drives him not to take no for an answer but to persist, first romantically, then violently, as a stalker, is revealed with skill, so that like the main character the audience can feel the walls close in.

One of the nice subplots in the play involves an interview Theresa is doing with a publisher of pornography. Despicable though his profession is, she can't help but liking him personally. Appearances can be deceiving, and people are more than the sum of their careers.

Things go from bad to really bad. Ultimately, Theresa has to abandon her entire life-- the police can't promise real protection, and though she fires the idiot assistant who thought the stalker's wanting to deliver flowers was romantic (and thus allows the stalker access to Theresa), there will always be another person so taken in. She won't be safe until she takes on another identity.

Not a lot of people have given much thought to the damage a determined harasser can do. It's terrifying stuff, and frightening to watch. Gilman writes wonderful, clear dialogue, and it's an engrossing play to read as well.

Boys Gets Girl is a dark play, which builds and builds toward a strong and very effective conclusion. Again Rebecca Gilman presents a social issue, in The Glory of Living it was poverty and violence, in Spinning Into Butter it was liberal/academic racism and in Boy Gets Girl it is stalking.
Without giving away the story: Theresa is a hard working journalist who doesn't date. When a friend sets up a blind date for her which starts well, only to deteriorate over time, Theresa's life is thrown into a tail spin.
That's a general look at the story. But the excellent part of Boy Gets Girl is the depth to which Gilman focuses on male/female relationships. Are they social games we play or do people of opposite sexes have biologically accute responses to each other, and is such behavior inherited or learned. Is the cliched "chase" or "pursuit" which Mercer regards as an archetypal story (in which the boy sees, the girl doesn't, the boy pursues, the girl ignores, the boy persists, the girl rejects, the boy persists, the girl relents, etc., etc.) borne of necessity or too many romantic books or movies?...So sets up an investigation by not only Theresa, but her co-workers, interviewees and other characters, into what it is to be a sexual animal today. She regards why and what men and women think about each otehr, and the ramifications.
For a gripping, difficult, occasionally scary play, which deals with socially significant issues, Gilman deserves much credit.

This is a rare case of a play being great to read but even better when on stage. As one of the cast in Spontaneous Productions' performance of this show in September of 2002 in Boise, Idaho I think I can safely say that the audience was moved and made to think. The subject matter of stalking and the wide spread repurcussions made more than a few of the patrons come away with a better grasp of how tragic this crime is. Read the book, but if you have the chance, see the play.

This play was a beautifully written analysis of society's veiw on relationships. Contrary to belief, it is not an attack on men, but the way that our society has formed men and the potential hazard that it poses. It is shocking, yet holds a strong and effective message. I recommend it to anyone who consider what society makes us.

I read this play in a theater class in college. I cannot understand how anyone can say that this play is overrated! Gilman developed the characters to the extent that I couldnt put it down! I loved this play!

I like the book, loved the play. This is a unique story where it doesn't all tie up in a nice bow at the end.

"Boys Gets Girl" by Rebecca Gilman is an awesome play. I was not familiar with Rebecca Gilman prior to reading this play, but I was very impressed with her as a playwright. She crafted a very unique, very impressive story about what happens when attraction becomes obsession, and how dangerous it can become when a guy can't take "no" for an answer. Very impressive writing, very vivid characters. There was nothing that I didn't like about this play. I would strongly recommend it to anyone looking for a great, original story.

This play is well written and addresses disturbing contemporary social issues of individual rights and boundaries. I highly recommend it.

Boy gets Girl, is a truthful glimpse into the the affect of stalking on a woman and those around her. This play just isn't about the experience of the victim it also examines the society in which the characters live and how social conditioning affects the way woman see men and themselves, and vice versa. This is an entertaining , thought provoking play that you can read in one sitting. Though sometimes an uncomfortable , awkward moment makes it's way off the page and into your nervous system. Ewww!

I love the play, every page was exciting, and I'm not a big reader, this definatly comes next to "The Assistant" on my list of favorites!