Ashley Khan reviews Caught Dreaming at NYSummerFest

Caught Dreaming covers intense subject matter, well, intensely.

It portrays a topic entering our psyche more prevalently – mental illness. It starts-off with a group of members attending therapy sessions. Judah, being the main character struggles with schizoaffective disorder, while his girlfriend, Elle, struggles with bipolar disorder; together they decide to join the group meeting with friends, Angelo and Brady.

It seems everyone but Judah is willing to be helped. Judah is in denial and rejects taking medication. Love triangles – even here in therapy – appear: Brady falls for Elle culminating in a stolen kiss; while Judah’s family situation heats up toward his eventual arrest.

Caught Dreaming, directed with great detail by Sara Rademacher, should be seen several times thanks to the deep levels of plot and character. Having someone in my life with schizoaffective disorder made the play that much more engrossing but I felt it did a great deal of justice to the cause. A play like this stops you from feeling alone in life and strife. The basic enselble cast was superior, displaying equal parts humor and drama and communicating a very delicate message with precision and respect.

Thanks Ryan Dancho, for leading a very necessary charge.