Terrific new play at Ars Nova in NYC: Sundown, Yellow Moon

3 of us yesterday saw Rachel Bonds's new play Sundown, Yellow Moon at Ars Nova/WP Theater, Anne Kauffman directing, and we universally loved this one-act play: funny, moving, powerful, true to life. The story concerns twin sisters who return to their small Southern town to visit their father, a prep-school teacher, who is facing a crisis in his life (he's been suspended from his job because of a violent outburst at a school assembly, and he's been ordered into anger-management counseling). Over the course of the play, we recognize that each of the major characters is at a point of crisis in life, each is struggling with failure and disappointment and unfulfilled dreams and aspirations. Bonds's writing is sharp and beautiful and, especially in the night-time dialogue between dad and one of the daughters, Rae, as they wrestle w/ sleeplessness, it's moving and emotional. Those in the know will recognize the title as a Dylan lyric, which gives you a sense of Bonds's literary milieu. In fact, music is hugely important to this play, as two of the main characters are wrestling with frustrated yet unrelenting musical ambitions - and many of the scenes involve musical performance: it's by no means a "musical" play but Bonds incorporates music in a natural way (e.g., the characters get together w/ two neighbors for an evening of music, and the songs and performance anxieties tell us much about the characters and their relationships). Bonds also leaves some elements open at the end of the play, which actually gives it a feeling of great completion and realism - for ex., we never learn the outcome of the dad's suspension; the girls' difficult mom (at least from dad's POV) is mentioned but never seen or heard from. As a note: Rachel Bonds's dad was one of my very best friends in youth (college roommates) though we lost touch later in life; Rachel and I have communicated via email. In some ways this play is a tribute to her dad - and I saw some elements of him in this play's Ton - though I'm sure she would agree that it's by no means a direct portrayal of her wonderful father.