Ninth and Joanie
by Brett C Leonard

Three generations of an Italian-American family gather to mourn the death of their matriarch.

"This is a play in microcosm, a full-blown artistic vision of reality, as clammy and ugly as any American play has ever come to capturing the mundane grimness of working class life as brilliantly as the early plays of Harold Pinter."

—Harvey Perr, Stage and Cinema

"An air of defeat hangs heavy on this gloomy (South Philadelphia) household … This is the kind of home where the sun has to fight its way through greasy windowpanes … What drives the play are the undercurrents of rage that flare up among father and sons like hot bolts of white lightning."

—Marilyn Stasio, Variety

"Silences seem to go on for days, and when things do happen, they happen fast, and they hurt … There are no in-betweens, and that makes the play hard to watch; but it'll definitely leave a mark."

—Jenna Scherer, Time Out New York