cover illustration by Attisano Levine Inc
"PHANTASIE, by Sybille Pearson, is
about something—something that, even if it does not affect you
directly, you can care about....
PHANTASIE (which is German for
`daydream,' and complexly relevant here) works as much in stage
images as in words, and always exhibits a fresh turn of mind....
...a play that is intelligent, sometimes
moving, and always imaginative.
...a generally thoughtful and compelling
evening."
John Simon, New York
"An adoptee searches for her natural
mother in Sybille Pearson's PHANTASIE, but that search is less
for a new parent than it is for clues to the character's buried
self. Without knowledge of the circumstances of her birth or of
her parentage, the woman has had to fantasize possibilities. In
her imaginative musings, she is everything from the child of a
mother who was raped to the unacknowledged daughter of a
Rothschild.
...this perceptive new play...is inward
and elliptical, at times enigmatic. The central character's quest
will continue long after the play has ended. There are no sudden
emotional outbursts or last-minute revelations. The drama remains
interior...that intensifies the interest.
...touching...truthfulness within a
natural reserve...quietly affecting...[an] Intimate journey of
discovery."
Mel Gussow, The New York Times
originally produced by the Vineyard Theater, New York
2 M, 4 F
I S B N: 0-88145-079-0, $8.95