REVIEWS
"To Walat's credit, her fast-moving play does not preach, merely raises questions, among them: Who are we as a nation? What shaped us and why? And does what we were—violent, intractable and destructive—play into our present-day society?...Bleeding Kansas is an excellent work." –
San Diego News“Kathryn Walat has delivered a powerful play. Bleeding Kansasis a gut-wrenching, tear-jerking drama that grabs the emotions. Its story offers plenty of parallels to present-day political and ethical issues but it doesn’t hit us over the head with them. Its characters aren’t Brechtian archetypes but believable flesh-and-blood human beings for whom we root and with whom we suffer.” –
Zenger’s Newsmagazine“
Bleeding Kansas offers a fascinating look at a largely unknown chapter of American history, and it does it from a very human perspective. That the prejudices and divisions it portrays mirror what’s going on in America today make it especially timely.” –
North County Times“In this fresh new play, Kate revisits a vital moment in American history to tell an original story about political conviction, moral belief, and love of country, all told with her unique sense of humor, dramatic action and sharp insight into real people… Kate is one of the most dynamic and exciting emerging playwrights working in the American theatre.” – Kevin Moriarty (Artistic Director, Dallas Theatre Center) in Playbill.com
“A tough political examination…There’s much to admire and enjoy here. Walat successfully establishes a rich drama, showing that as capital-H history swirls around us, it is also lived at eye-level.” –
Ithaca Times“Bleeding Kansas tightly embodies the historical conflict with a spare handful of characters… What’s interesting is the psychological interplay of ethics and personalities.” –
Ithaca Journal