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1. The relationship between “jazz, free jazz” and John Coltrane’s 1965 “A Love Supreme” to the
themes in the play is that both components swing and move in various divergent. As for the
music itself, the instrumental pieces go all over the place in terms of volume, instrumental use,
and the general notes played. The obvious connection to the main themes within the play is that
topics like drug addiction, social isolation, death, and PTSD are all experiences people have that
take them through a winding and wild course of life. Just like the music, the themes twist and
turn in context and complexity.
2. An expansive play that covers the distance from Puerto Rico to Japan, Philadelphia to San Diego,
and the virtual world to the physical, Water by the Spoonful ties together the lives of a host of
unforgettable characters in a play of genuine warmth about forgiveness and redemption.
Geographical range in the play is used to bring a wide range of different religions, and cultures
into the spectrum of relatability. One of the beautiful things about the internet is that it doesn’t
limit our notion of community to be geographic. Geographic communities are obviously central
to our life, but of course where one is born, or where one can afford to live creates personal
limitations. The internet is a place where like-minded people can connect, with very few
resources, and also with some element of privacy. This allows for a connection that can be very
deep. Our news likes to cover press stories about all the damage that online anonymity creates,
but the flip side is of course that there are great benefits to connecting, and in the case of this
play, such connections can even turn lives around.
3. I think the play's ending was beautiful. The play concludes with Elliot and Yaz scattering the
ashes on one part of the stage, while John lifts a radiant, but sickly, Odessa out of the bathtub
on the other part of the stage. All of the main characters are beginning new phases in their lives,
being vulnerable, taking risks, and moving toward redemption and healing with hope. I think this
play teaches us that people in recovery have different ways of coping and the real-life struggle
that people go through. Then the play teaches that people in recovery have a support system of
some sort. Even though they connected through an online forum, they were there for each
