How Is It That We Live

And everything in between

On the road - in an indelible American landscape - Shakey Jake and Alice launch themselves on a poetic quest as they dance to the end of love

"Haunting, poetic and achingly tender, the pitch perfect How Is It That We Live or Shakey Jake + Alice conveys love in a way that will leave you thinking about what it means for two hearts to be entwined for the brief flash of the human life span

It's as if someone forgot to tell playwright Len Jenkin that new plays are not supposed to be this good

The story and structure are deceptively simple

We meet Shakey Jake and Alice as teens, huddling for shelter, laughing, questioning, proclaiming their love and confusion under the bridge

Years pass between scenes that take us to young adults whose lives didn't turn out as they'd hoped

And finally to elderly people facing challenges beyond their control

The biggest wow goes to Jenkin, the Obie Awardwinning playwright who has reached for the stars and, somehow, managed to bring one down to twinkle

How Is It That We Live or Shakey Jake + Alice is, in the end, a play about the human condition that doesn't condescend, simplify or slip into sentimentality

Amid life's inevitable disappointments and fears, it beats with hope that love is real and prevails

Shakey Jake and Alice aren't famous or rich

They don't change the world by the standards we usually apply to people who are deemed to be making a difference

But their love for each other turns out to be more important than being remembered for a brief sojourn on the earth

In fact, this play suggests, that may be the only important thing

Shakey Jake tells Alice that when they come back in another life, even if she's a tree, he will find her and love her

The marvel and joy is that you believe it ..."

Nancy Churnin, Dallas News