Stage Write

It’s fitting that the last main stage play at the current Phoenix Theatre was the Pulitzer-Prize-winning “Sweat”. It was full of gritty dialogue, realistic portrayals of regular life, a diverse cast, and had an ending that left you reeling long after the final bow. The show closed this past weekend but as the Phoenix wraps up its time at the old church theater and prepares for its move to its new home on Illinois, you have one more chance to see a play in a building that has held 30 years of great performances.  “Fairfield” opens this weekend on the intimate Basile stage. A grade school is thrown into chaos when a young white teacher decides use role playing to celebrate Black history month with her first grade class. Emotions run high and prejudices are revealed as the parents and superintendent get involved. The script is full of dark humor and is reminiscent of “Gods of Carnage”. The play’s conversations are all too familiar, but they’re approached in a way that uses humo...