The King is Dead

Outsider teenage twins Farrah and Finn have secretly shared and relished a bizarre gift of “second sight” which allows them to “see” mystical visions. Trust between the pair begins to crumble during a “culturally enlightening” senior trip to Graceland, as Farrah starts to break away from Finn and develop her own identity. Both twins begin selectively sharing their gift with others; Farrah connects with cool-guy Jonah, which prompts Finn to try to branch out by asking popular girl Cath to the winter formal. Their paranormal powers prove harmless in the first encounter and malevolent in the second, as Finn overpowers Cath, frightening her and unintentionally transferring “second sight” to her. Those events form bonds between Farrah, Cath, Jonah, and his friend Scoot, but betrayals happen almost as quickly as those new relationships take shape. As Farrah’s power grows and changes, she must attempt to maneuver the murky waters of right and wrong, friendship and family, and truth and illusion.The play dramatizes a girl’s coming-of-age and the breaking down of barriers of adolescence and crackles with spontaneous, authentic dialogue. The protagonists of the play are sympathetically drawn, with a nuanced irony. Caroline V. McGraw explains that she finds herself drawn to “stories about people who haven’t found their voices yet.” Most of the play takes place in Graceland, where Elvis “the King” Presley is dead but rampant commercialism lives, a setting that seems bleak and meaningless to the teens. The motels and diners near Graceland provide an eerie and strangely haunted backdrop for the events of the play. But its heightened events are grounded in naturalistic writing and acting, preserving the integrity of its emotionally realistic style.