Dobama dishes out a sugar-dusted but deep-fried ‘Superior Donuts’

Bob Abelman

Cleveland Jewish News, The News Herald, The Morning Journal

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics

Yes, “Superior Donuts” is written by THAT Tracy Letts, the one who wrote the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning “August: Osage County.”

If you happened to see “August” at Lakeland Civic Theater last year or on tour at PlayhouseSquare a few years earlier, you may be tempted to pass on Letts’ newer work.  

After all, “August” is a complicated, emotionally-draining drama that borders on the tragic.  Although it is served with a side order of dark comedy, the laughs come at the expense of a thoroughly dysfunctional family upon the suicide of its patriarch.  It is an unsentimental portrait of the human condition, albeit cleverly conceived and brilliantly written.  

But missing “Superior Donuts” would be a huge mistake.

It, too, is cleverly conceived and brilliantly written, but these are the only things “Superior Donuts” has in common with anything else Letts has written to date.  It is, in fact, a sweet, tender, joyous celebration of the human spirit.  And it is an unabashed comedy.  The play is being given a spectacular staging at Dobama Theatre. 

For more of this review, go to:  http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/