NINA
The thing is, Retha/You want something so badly for so long that you don't know what kinda person you'd be without the ache/It's like, if you ever got what you wanted, you'd lose yrself entirely/But if you lose yrself/What are you then?
SWEET
2W, 1M
The Baker sisters have always been the best of friends, but when the neighbor boy returns home from college, desire threatens to tear them apart.
Productions
TBA, Omaha, NE, 2023: dir. Denise Chapman
Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre, Evanston, IL, 2017: dir. Tim Rhoze
World Premiere, National Black Theatre, New York CIty, 2016: dir. Raelle Myrick Hodges
Readings/Workshops
Reading, National Black Theatre, New York City, 2016: dir. Charlotte Braithwaite
Reading, Great Plains Theatre Conference, Omaha, 2015: dir. Denise Chapman
Workshop, The Black & Latino Theater Conference, San Marcos, 2014: dir. David Mendizábal
Reading, The Public Theater, New York City, 2013: dir. Leah Gardiner
Reading, The Public Theater, New York City, 2013: dir. Niegel Smith
Awards
*AUDELCO "VIV" Nominations for Best Dramatic Production, Outstanding Ensemble Performance (Maechi Aharanwa, W. Tre Davis & Renika Williams), Best Director (Raelle Myrick-Hodges) and Best Play, 2017
Press
"...the story is full, each of the characters is well formed and connects with the audience in one way or another. It's easy to find yourself sort of watching your life play out on stage, connecting with Retha, Nina and George as they take the journey in self discovery. It's a story that reminds us to take a breath in the midst of the chaos and remember self care. Rivers" writing is clean, simple, reminiscent and joyful. Sweet is sweet."
--Brittney M. Walker, eurweb.com
"Rivers has created a completely realistic relationship between two sisters who love each other and share unbreakable bonds, while inflicting careless wounds. One minute they're tearing each other's hair out, the next minute they're playing ring-around-a-rosy ... Frankly, I wouldn't have thought it possible for a man to write a relationship between two sisters so accurately before seeing Sweet."
--Donna Herman, The Front Row
"Crowd-pleasing..."
--Laura Collins-Hughes, The New York Times
"Watching these three characters waltz in a cloud of dust between memories and fantasies is an absolute joy. As its title indicates, Rivers' play has a sweetness that offers real respite from the current socio-economic climate, thought the play is not without its own heartbreaks and surprises."
--Charlotte Arnoux, THEATRE IS EASY
"Black people have stillness ... This play is a respite and a celebration of what it's like to be still and what it would be like to just sit still."
--Sandra Bookman, Here and Now on ABC7NYC
"I wondered what the title meant up until the performance, I had tried unsuccessfully to figure it out then "end of play" was read and I felt that I had just had the sweetest experience of any play I have ever seen. Sweet is the essence that lingers in the room as the charaters exist; sweet is the experience that stays with you once the story has been told..."
--Robin Byrd, Los Angeles Female Playwrights' Initiative