Overview

A powerful new play exploring mental illness and family resilience. With a cast of 11 actors portraying 32 characters, CRACKED OPEN is a story of love, struggle, and the power of family. A loving family is broken apart with the onset of mental illness in their 17-year old daughter. And the whole family enters the wilderness: the absurd, comical and nightmarish maze of doctors, psychiatrists, social workers, a supermarket variety of diagnoses and medications. As they grope through the darkness, the violent consequences of a poorly run state facility, and the fierce stigma of mental illness-the family finds a new way to come together again.

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Reviews

OffOffOnline- Deirdre Donovan https: //www.offoffonline.com/offoffonline/2025/5/16/cracked-open ""Cracked Open doesn't pull any punches."" ""A true ensemble effort."" ""Cracked Open reveals the power of family in dark times."" ""An emotionally heated drama... about one family's journey with mental illness after their 18-year-old daughter suffers a psychotic breakdown."" ""Divided into three phases... the play captures the family's descent, survival, and fragile recovery with raw authenticity."" ""The company's 11 actors portray 32 characters, demonstrating quicksilver changes from one scene to the next."" ""Katherine Reis is compelling as the troubled Tilde... Blaire Dimisa and Bart Shatto bring emotional urgency as her sister and father."" ""Directed with fearless honesty by Gail Kriegel."" ""It isn't all doom-and-gloom--there's humor peppered throughout."" ""The play doesn't offer pat answers, but it does ask the right questions."" [Edit] ""An emotionally heated drama that doesn't offer pat answers, but it does ask the right questions."" DC Theatre Arts https: //dctheaterarts.org/2025/05/20/a-familys-struggle-with-mental-illness-in-cracked-open-at-nycs-theatre-row ""A raw look at the emotional pressure placed on everyone involved... and the resilience, support, and abiding love needed for dealing over the long term with the impact of mental illness."" ""Cracked Open offers a rare look and an open door into the timely topic [of mental illness]."" ""Staged in a simple black-box space... literally shining a spotlight in the darkness on a subject that is not often seen and giving voice to those who are not often heard."" ""Turning in standout performances... are Joyia D. Bradley as Willy... and Rubén Caballero as Billy... filled with kindness and empathy under the most challenging of circumstances."" ""Katherine Reis, Pamela Bob, Bart Shatto, and Blaire DiMisa bring heart and complexity to a family in crisis."" Electronic Link Journey Love, understanding, and family are the winners.

Author Information

GAIL KRIEGEL (Writer and Director) is a celebrated playwright whose accolades include a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship, the One World Arts Award for Theater that Bridges Worlds, and the Ruby Lloyd Apsey Award for distinguished playwriting. Her work has been chosen for inclusion in the Archives at Lincoln Center. Gail wrote the book, music, and lyrics for SWEETEE, produced to critical acclaim at the Signature Theater in NY and directed by the legendary Patricia Birch. ON THE HOME FRONT has been showcased globally, including the National Black Theater in Washington, DC. SEVEN, a docudrama written with six award-winning playwrights, has been performed worldwide in over 35 languages. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild, Maestra, ASCAP, BMI, and the League of Professional Theatre Women and serves as Artistic Director of the East Broadway Theatre Project.

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