PLEASE NOTE EVEN IF INITIALS ARE THE SAME, THE CONTRIBUTORS ARE DIFFERENT
"Incredible performance!" - JP
"Absolutely amazing!" - JL
"Phenomenal work." - CA
"Ryan L Jenkins is amazing!" - AM
"Such a beautiful, touching, thought provoking, sorrowful, and meaningful show...I loved the fact that after every monolog, everyone clapped... except for after that one!...a breathtaking and heartbreaking piece of art, a one person show performed with brilliance." - HRH
"Incredible show." - EB
"THIS IS THE TYPE OF THEATRE I WANT TO SEE AND BE A PART OF! The kind of theatre that moves the audience to tears and makes people squirm uncomfortably in their seats. The kind that brings real life issues to light and allows us to see and identify w the characters and feel ALL the feelings for them. This show is POWERFUL. Its topic can be triggering for those unhealed parts of us that we have tried to ignore and pretend aren't there, but in order to heal, we gotta feel, and this show felt like a little bit of healing for me.
Tonight is the last performance and youll be missing out if you let this show close without seeing it." - TV
"I haven’t been this moved by a production in a long time. Don’t miss it. Today is your last chance...Go see. This work is so important, the direction by Elena Conti is so skillful and beautiful, and Ryan Lynette J is a master of the craft moving mountains with this performance. Go. You can thank me later." - MS
“What beautiful art. Thank you to everyone involved! Big purrs.” - DD
"Truly a life transforming performance by Ryan L Jenkins." - JV
"UNTIL THE FLOOD at Stray Cat Theatre is an acting obstacle course and Ryan L. Jenkins is an AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR." - TS
"Vulnerable and cathartic performance by Ryan L. Jenkins." - LT
"I saw UNTIL THE FLOOD last weekend. It was beautiful, and fucked me up." - KR
"Where do I even begin and what do I even say about UNTIL THE FLOOD at Stray Cat theater? What exceptional accolades can I give to Ryan L Jenkins without sounding cheesy or trite? Ya'll Ryan put on a damn PERFORMANCE. She assumes the role of many characters spanning different age groups, genders, and ethnicities. She does every single one of them to the NTH level of excellence. The direction and pacing is so so right. My one and only complaint is that the house should have been full to overflowing. There are only a few more chances to catch this incredibly thought-provoking and superbly done piece because it closes this weekend. Please make it a priority to see this. Yes, cancel something else if you need to. I fully vouch for the fact that it will be worth it. Just don't tell your mom it was me who told you to cancel on her. Or do. I'm feeling spicy" - NG
"Went to see Until the Flood at Stray Cat Theatre, performed by the talented Ryan L Jenkins. Phenomenal one woman show! Let's get that out of the way first.
Second, yes the play explores some hard topics, but these are hard times. Told documentary style, each character's relationship with Michael Brown is portrayed with earnestly, as is the criss cross journey through opposing view points. It's a story told with care, a sprinkle of humor, and ultimately a plea for empathy. To remember that we're all fragile, and even ONE death can impact countless lives. Just incredible." - BM
"This is why you should go before it’s gone. Co-guest contributing writer for Broadway World, Angela Kabasan-Gonzalez, posted her review for Stray Cat’s Until The Flood this week (look for the link below for Angela’s full published review), but for the record, as an extra quick one minute read, here’s my unofficial, no-one-asked-me-to-do-this, thumbnail take for anyone interested. Remember the shocking event in the summer of 2014 when, in Ferguson, Mo., eighteen year-old Michael Brown, a local black teenager, was gunned down by a panicked young white police officer? Taking a cue from The Laramie Project, another real-life American tragedy, writer Dael Orlandersmith went to St. Louis and interviewed several residents, each with considerably different views and perspectives on what occurred and what it meant to them.
But, rather than writing a play that relives the same, single event as seen through different prisms in the style of the 1950 film Rashomon, Until The Flood is less an examination of the actual event and more a look at how the tragedy resonated with each of them; how it made them feel, what they may have learned, what they regret or fear, and, in some cases, what their future may become as a result. Unlike The Laramie Project, where dialog was often quoted verbatim, writer Orlandersmith has created eight fictional characters, each a composite of everything the writer had learned, and given them an array of voices based on what the writer was told.
And here’s where it gets interesting. All characters are played by a single performer. Until The Flood is a 90 minute, no intermission, one-person play where, with only moderate voice changes and minimally altered accents, Ryan L. Jenkins successfully portrays all eight characters – black, white, men, women, and teenager. It’s a remarkable performance set within what is essentially a shrine; a candle-filled memorial to Michael Brown, each candle lit and flickering among a small bed of stuffed toys and R.I.P signs.Previously seen performing in many local valley productions, Ryan, a black woman, inhabits all the bodies of the Ferguson residents portrayed, giving each a certain characteristic – whether it be her voice, an article of clothing, or the slightest of body movements – that makes them different from each other as Ryan herself is to any of them. Some characters are understated, others considerably more animated. The fact that Ryan engages so quickly is one of the reasons why you may find yourself adjusting uncomfortably in your seat from time to time, depending upon what story is being related and how you relate to what you’re hearing. Much is shameful, as when ‘Louisa’ looks back to explain the ‘Sundown Laws,’ or when ‘Connie’ talks of a lost friendship she regrets after a conversation in a local wine bar.
But the emotional shocker is ‘Dougray,’ the white guy who references Schindler’s List in his monolog. What he states while leaning directly into the audience is a harrowing (though not overplayed) moment of live theatre where an ugly truth of race in America is gleefully revealed. It packs a wallop.
There’s a performance tonight, with more continuing into the weekend. You should go." - DA
"We were all really blown away with the production of “Until the Flood.” It was one of the most powerful works of theatre I’ve seen in a while. We are lucky to have this show produced in our community. Congrats to your whole creative team!" - MS
"Came to see Until the Flood twice today. Ryan first and Tanner following. Both were riveting. Both provided different but altogether brilliant pieces. THIS is something to be seen. Period." - AG
"One more week left to see this moving and thought-provoking show. Ryan Jenkins is a one-woman powerhouse, bringing all 8 characters to life as they grapple with life after the death of Michael Brown at the hands of Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson." - DT
"Riveting. I am not always a fan of one man/woman shows. I was mesmerized by Ryan’s performance and this powerful script." - PT
"Absolutely Incredible!" - KC
"Very powerful one woman production. Ryan Jenkins was wonderful." - JK
“Saw this play tonight and Ryan Jenkins was so great!” - CC
"I couldn’t take my eyes off Ryan as she expertly brought these characters to life! Do not miss this show!" - KH
“I saw Ryan Jenkins' performance in Stray Cat’s production of BEFORE THE FLOOD by Dael Orlandersmith last night. Ryan should do a Master Class on how to do 9 characters in 90 minutes - - characters who were not easy portrayals and each filled with different stories, backgrounds, and multitudes of layers in the progression of the character as he/she told the story and then the next character, and next, and her ability to keep the audience invested and listening. As each character was revealed and Ryan first spoke in each role, her body, face, voice and interpretation of each character was brilliant. I believed each one and forgot it was Ryan. And then there was the overall impact of the piece upon our small audience and how much of an abyss is still underneath that I continue to ignore and shush away – hoping things get better but really making no effort to go further than that. It’s a theatrical presentation, piece, play that Stray Cat continues to present and makes me/us embrace impactful and great theatre and its importance in our communities and theatre choices in the Valley. Go see it. Only through 3/2/24.” - DL
"Saw this last night, and Ryan Jenkins is fantastic in this challenging and moving piece. Go see!" - JS
"I saw this last weekend and I'm still struggling to find the words to describe the experience. But I'm going to try because everyone who is capable needs to see this production.
Everything about this show defied expectations. Ryan L Jenkins puts on a genuine masterclass in character-creation and has you wrapped around her finger from the moment the first light comes up. 90 minutes flies by in the blink of an eye and it feels like you've been holding your breath the entire time. I can't remember the last time I felt so captivated by a singular performance. Two more weekends of this beautiful show and then it's gone for good. Don't let yourself miss out." - NS
"UNTIL THE FLOOD is a gripping and revelatory new play constructed and informed by interviews playwright Dael Orlandersmith conducted with a cross-section of people in and around Ferguson. All of whom have vastly different perspectives on the incident that turned the town into a flashpoint in America’s never-ending struggle for racial justice. And Ryan L. Jenkins played all 8 of the interviewees. What a nuanced performance!" - BO
"This one-person performance was fantastically well acted! And the range of characters she performed was impressive. Amazing work!" - JD
“It was so amazing. You got to see an issue from all sides….you never get to see that. I keep thinking about all of those characters.” - LL
"We saw the new Stray Cat Theater production last night, locals, and I encourage you to check it out. UNTIL THE FLOOD knocked our socks off and has stayed with me on an emotional level in a powerful way. This is the kind of experience theatre gives you that other forms can't. Instant SCT Hall of Fame show. Incredible and emotionally devastating. Ryan should be the leader already for the next round of Zonis.” - MM
“That show was beautiful, and hard. There were times I was leaning forward in my seat becoming so invented in the story being told. I need to see it again so I can digest all of it.” - DS
"Ryan Lynette J gave an incredible opening night performance yesterday in Until the Flood at Stray Cat Theatre! 1 performer, 9 characters, 90 minutes. Congrats to all involved who have worked to get this production on its feet!" - DM
"Congratulations to Ryan Jenkins, Elena Conti and Stray Cat Theatre on their impactful production of Until the Flood by Dael Orlandersmith (based on interviews with a cross-section of people around Ferguson after the killing of Michael Brown). Ryan is a powerful force in this one woman, multi-character piece. Her storytelling is both beautiful and heartbreaking and the characters she creates are fully realized and memorable. The show runs 90 min and you can see it now through March 2 at Tempe Center for the Arts." - KM
"This show is beautiful. Ryan is a force. Go see this important piece of theatre." - JT
"This show was so incredible." - BG
"Don't miss out on this epic performance by Ryan L. Jenkins. She will have you clinging to every word in this unforgettable, poignant piece of work. Please, go." - DM