...and LA is Burning
© 2007

winner of the 2008 Smith Prize
from the National New Play Network

"...and LA is Burning [is] a tender, quirky little play about two white women and a black man living in Seattle in 1992, as the nation and the media are transfixed by the trial of four Los Angeles police officers accused in the videotaped beating of black man Rodney King, and the outcry of protest after the verdicts.

Y York's touching and thought-provoking 2007 work mines the territory with humanity and often with humor, as the three very different people meet and mingle on the rocky shores of racism, well-intentioned liberalism, media exploitation, generally held assumptions and the Cosby Show...York brings a fresh and individual voice while capturing the quirks of human attitudes and relationships. Think Neil Simon after too much windowpane acid." -- Karen Mamone, Sarasota Pelican Press

Main Street Theatre

"Main Street Theater has mined another unassuming gem with its world premiere of ... and L.A. is Burning.
A comedy with serious implications, Y York's neatly crafted play explores the impact of preconception and miscommunication upon a Seattle Environmental Protection Agency office worker, her black colleague and her new neighbor, an East Coast visitor researching a book on "hidden prejudice" in America.

The action unfolds in 1992, with the media dominated by the trial of Los Angeles police officers for beating Rodney King and the subsequen riots after the "not guilty" verdict. Yet while that is the backdrop, the play is so low-key it would be easy to overlook just how much it has to say and how well it says it.

Though treating weighty issues, York doesn't clobber you with them, instead maintaining a light touch. While her theme may be familiar, she has found a fresh and individual approach to it. Best of all, by accurately capturing the quirks of human attitudes and interplay, York keeps the play consistently funny, unflaggingly true and, at times, urprisingly touching. ...and L.A. Is Burning makes you laugh, then leaves you with plenty to ponder and discuss. I would be surprised if it did not go on to a busy career at other theaters." -- Everett Evans, Houston Chronicle

full review

Florida Studio Theatre

"In 1992, the whole country raged after the officers accused of (and video-taped) beating Rodney King were acquitted of the crime. In L.A., there was rioting in the streets; in the rest of the country, there was outrage and shock. Y York's ...and L.A. Is Burning, premiering at Main Street Theater, is a smart and moving response to the trial, achieved through three very different characters living in Seattle in 1992. ...This tender play is a powerful examination of a changing nation." -- Lee Williams, Houston Press

full review

Main Street Theatre

"In her funny and poignant play ...and LA is Burning, Y York delves into the issue of racism in a way that lets you laugh easily at the words and actions of a trio of vastly different people while seeing right through them to recognize how we all react and deal with one another." -- Jay Handelman, Sarasota Herald Tribune

Workshopped at the New Harmony Project
and read to the public by the author at Kumu Kahua Theatre.
Premiered at Main Street Theatre, Houston.

Main Street Theatre

"York's comedy talks, quite seriuously, about race relations and preconcpetions of people...It's a play about people, about how we think -- and often how we don't...It's almost unbelievable how you realize you are sitting there watching a play about very serious things, but you're laughing uproariously over the action. you're doing it because Y York crafted a fantastic, passionate, deeply moving and funny script. ...and L.A. is Burning does a rare and wonderful thing: it both entertains and causes you to think. Theater doesn't get much better than that." -- Holly Beretto, artshouston

Florida Studio Theatre

1 male, 2 female
full-length
flexible set; multiple settings

Main Street Theatre