I had the honor of being in the first audience to ever enjoy Charles Randolf-Wright's new play "The Night is a Child" this week at the Rep's Quadracci Powerhouse Theater. The energy and feeling in the room for this final tech rehearsal was amazing, and it was fun to witness the interaction of playwright, tech crew and actors in the final stages of the "birthing process" of this amazing play.

The play was successful in portraying a mix of cultural viewpoints and what transpires as people different life experiences come together. The Brazilian setting of much of the play gave me leverage in convincing my husband to join me, as he felt he may be able to relate to it given his Latino heritage. Indeed, the play was filled with ample spatterings of Portuguese, which enriched the experience for both of us.

The play overflowed with dance, music and the mysterious workings of the devotees of Candomblé (a religion based on African traditions similar to Voodoo), providing a much-needed exotic escape from a cold Milwaukee day.

That said, the major theme of the play was that we cannot escape from the sadness and pain of life no matter how far we go, how much we drink or how hard we try to explain it away. Logic cannot account for everything, despite our strong desire for it to be so. But we can get through it. At some point we have to let go.

The play challenges stereotypes, is thought provoking and addresses difficult issues which have become the reality of our day. It is timely, relevant and accomplishes its direction in an artistically rich way.

The setting alternated, perhaps a bit too readily at times, between Boston and the aforementioned Brazil. A well-chosen closing song integrated the locations nicely with a hip-hop overlay on a Brazilian melody.