Variety Review - IN THE CONTINUUM, Oct. 3, 2005

Reviewed by:   Mark Blankenship

"A doubly rare breed, "In the Continuum" is a political drama that teaches without preaching and a heartbreaker that stirs without schmaltz. Credit for both goes to the extraordinary writer-stars, Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter, two recent NYU grads who decided the theater should say more about the staggering number of African and African-American women living with HIV. The resulting statement is stark, frightening and altogether engrossing.."

Village Voice Review - IN THE COTINUUM, Oct. 4, 2005

Reviewed by: Michael Feingold

"In the Continuum is a subtle, smartly staged piece on a subject that could make a great deal more screaming understandable...Salter is particularly good at conveying the complex reactions involved..."

Backstage Review - IN THE CONTINUUM, Oct. 5, 2005

Reviewed by: Andy Propst

"Gurira and Salter create powerful portraits of these women, as well as a host of other people in their lives. Both performers transform (altering the drape of their wraps and adding small accessories) with ease...the writing and the performances [to] deliver the play's considerable punch."

Time Out New York Review - IN THE CONTINUUM, Oct. 6-12, 2005

Reviewed by: Helen Shaw

"Thanks to some carefully observed comic portraits, Gurira and Salter keep the atmosphere light for as long as they can (even a bit too much). But once each actor begins her third-act breakdown, the drama is as continuously engaging as the comedy."

Gay City News Review - IN THE CONTINUUM, Oct. 6-12, 2005

Reviewed by: Christopher Byrne

"Both Guira and Salter are actresses of extraordinary range and skill, and they have crafted a play that works both as politics and literature, finding voices for each of the characters that ring ...For such young playwrights and performers, it is a piece of startling maturity.

Among the many brilliant moments, the one that stands out is Nia's prayer near the end of the piece. Done as a rap, it turns the form that often celebrates male dominance and glamorizes riches, acquisition, stardom, and the objectification of women into its direct inverse and shows the corrosive spiritual effect such attitudes have.

New York Times Review - IN THE CONTINUUM, Oct. 10, 2005

Reviewed by: Charles Isherwood

"...But Ms. Gurira and Ms. Salter write the story in flesh and blood - in the medium of life, which is realized most immediately onstage...As they move among these characters, the actresses display the breadth of their acting skills as well as the meticulous attention they've paid to the construction of character. Each portrait comes through in sharp, photographic detail..."

Newsday Review - IN THE CONTINUUM, Dec. 8, 2005

Reviewed by: Rob Kendt

"For one, there's the pure joy Salter and Gurira bring to their multiple roles...Salter never loses track of Nia's urgency or despair...next to finely calibrated dramatic moments (of which this extraordinary play is full), statistics seem crude instruments for measuring the human toll of this ongoing plague. The theater, used this wisely and this well, speaks louder and penetrates deeper."

New York Post Review - IN THE CONTINUUM, Dec. 13, 2005

Reviewed by: Frank Scheck

"...NYU graduate students Nikkole Salter and Danai Gurira give powerful performances in the play "In the Continuum."

The British Theatre Guide Review - IN THE CONTINUUM, 2005

 Reviewed by: Philip Fisher

"...The multi-talented Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter, as Abigail and Nia respectively, deserve to win best newcomer awards for this Off-Broadway production, which has transferred from Primary Stages at 59E59."

Wall Street Journal Review - IN THE CONTINUUM, Jan. 6, 2006

WEEKEND JOURNAL Theater -- View: Political But Not Preachy

By Terry Teachout

The Stage Review - IN THE CONTINUUM, Aug. 9, 2006

Reviewed by: Thom Dibdin

"...Salter finds the charismatic edge in this chaos, creating a person you want to cherish, not treat with disdain..."

The Washington Post Review - IN THE CONTINUUM, Sept. 5, 2006

 Reviewed by: Peter Marks

"In a scene of desperate poignancy, Nia is in a motel room, contemplating the leave-him-alone check she's accepted from Darnell's mother. If Salter were any more tenderly convincing, the check would be real, too."

Variety Review - IN THE CONTINUUM, Nov. 26, 2006

Reviewed by: Terry Morgan

"Salter is immensely likeable as Nia, bringing welcome humor to the play. She's thoroughly convincing as the somewhat innocent character, which makes Nia's tragedy that much more affecting. Salter also excels in dramatic portrayals, particularly as Nia's bitter mother, who recites a litany of AIDS misinformation followed by the self-righteous declaration "You got to know your history"

Show Business Weekly Review- IN THE CONTINUUM

Reviewed by: Sean O'Donnell

"Salter attacks her role as the shoplifting, brassy Nia with gleeful abandon. While Nia allows Salter many opportunities to prove herself a gifted comedian, she also shows herself to be a forceful, dramatic actress, crafting layer upon layer of depth to reveal the hidden humanity beneath the loud and frightened little girl."

The Kansas City Star Review – GEE'S BEND, Apr. 3, 2008

Reviewed by: Robert Trussell

"The central figure is Sadie (played vividly by Nikkole Salter), who grows from adolescence to old age in the course of the play.

Such a vast age range poses a daunting task for any actor, but Salter rarely misses a beat, whether as a teenage flirt or risking her life in the 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery."

Kansas City Community News News – GEE'S BEND, Apr. 8, 2008

Reviewed by:  Russ Simmons

"Nikkole Salter is quite splendid as Sadie, whom we first meet as a teenager in her rural Alabama home in 1939... the play belongs to Salter.  Under the prudent guidance of director Marion McClinton, she creates a vivid portrait of individual endurance that serves as a fitting salute to all those who sacrificed so much during the Civil Rights movement."

The New York Times Feature

Putting Women's Faces on the Grim Statistics About AIDS
Felicia R. Lee

October 1, 2005

"The play's title works on several levels, the women said. It suggests connections between generations and cultures, as well as continued cycles of both despair and endurance among blacks. It also means that the playwrights are trying to bring the stories of women into the continuum of stories about AIDS."

The Villager Feature

AIDS' most overlooked victims gain an audience

By Rachel Breitman

November 16-22, 2005

"As Gurira and Salter shift seamlessly from role to role-with the primary costume change being the placement of the colored sash each wears-they embody a broad array of women touched in some way by the disease."

WNYC Radio Interview

The Leonard Lopate Show

November 30, 2005

Los Angeles Times Feature

Two playwrights with one purpose:

By merging their works about women with AIDS, a pair of dramatists make a more powerful statements

By: Patrick Pacheco

Dec 11, 2005

The primary goal of "In the Continuum," Gurira and Salter say, is to entertain an audience while shaping and continuing an honest discussion of AIDS. "I thought if I could dramatize [issues of HIV infection] in a way that didn't feel preachy, that was inviting," Salter says. "

Newsday Feature

THE BEST OF 2005 THEATER

Newsday critic Linda Winer's picks

BY LINDA WINER
STAFF WRITER

December 25, 2005

"A first play written by and starring two luminous New York University grads..."

Planned Parenthood Interview

Living In the Continuum

by Laura Lambert
01.12.06

"...Salter grounds her story in serious social commentary, drawing from the works of Cornell West, as well as Cathy Cohen's book, The Boundaries of Blackness, which presents the social, political, and cultural impact of AIDS on the African-American community. "I infused the characters with research so they'd become personifications of the statistics or the social phenomena."

 Theater Talk:

Danai Gurira and Nikkole Slater from "In the Continuum"

Episode: 1210 Taped: 01/28/2006

 National Pubilc Radio Interview

Two Women, One Story 'In the Continuum'

By: Jeff Lunden

February 12, 2006

 WCBS Television Interview

CBS2 On The Aisle: AIDS Drama Strikes A Chord

Off-B'way Show Gets Added Performances

By Dana Tyler

Feb 12, 2006 3:17 pm US/Eastern

 AOL Black Voices Feature

Type A Personalities

How black women from all walks of life fight HIV and AIDS

By Angela Bronner, AOL Black Voices

03.30.2006

"...Salter, allowing a sophisticated nuance to working class black women, give subtle, funny and heartbreaking performances. "I consider myself a storyteller with purpose," says Salter. "I try to use my craft to reveal some kind of insight to things that are important to me and my community..."

 New York Times Feature

Shoulda Been Contenders

By BEN BRANTLEY and CHARLES ISHERWOOD

Published: June 4, 2006

A look at the productions and performances that could easily have held their own among this year's Tony Award nominees.

Harare International Festival of the Arts Feature

In the Continuum: Theatre that puts you on the edge of a cliff

June 25, 2006

"One of the most talked about shows at HIFA, In the Continuum saw huge crowds of hopefuls without tickets, lining the streets outside, as word spread of its power and impact. Not all who hoped to squeeze in, could, but those who did, thought it well worth the effort."

 Playbill.com Feature

Tales of Two Women

By Sheryl Flatow
20 Jul 2006

Audiences have been extremely moved by In the Continuum. "I think that neither Danai nor Nikkole fully realize the effect the play has had," says O'Hara. "They may never know or understand how deeply it touches people."

 New York Post Feature

PULITZER SURPRISE

by Michael Ridel

Missing from the list of nominees are two shows that theater people were pretty certain would make the cut: "Rabbit Hole," now on Broadway, and "In the Continuum...

It's unclear why [Anna Deveare] Smith withheld her support; she did not return messages seeking comment."

 The Zimbabwean Feature

Play touches on women and AIDS

By Tins Magaba

"The two shows were sold out and drew a packed audience. Many wept throughout the performance. It is a story of searing pain and burning emotions yet rendered with an amazing sense of humour.
The two actresses facilitated various workshops in their Harare visit as part of HIFA's outreach mission, which is to encourage more township youth to take the arts as a serious livelihood."

New York Magazine Feature

2005 Culture Awards - Best Play

"This harrowing first play about two HIV-positive pregnant women put the city's longtime pros to shame..."

New York Times Feature

Off Broadway Play About H.I.V. Is a Hit in Africa

May 20, 2006, Saturday

By TREY GRAHAM

"At first, Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter were worried about how Africans might react to their Off Broadway hit, ''In the Continuum,'' which tells the story of two women, one in Los Angeles and one here, who discover they are infected with H.I.V. ''I didn't know if I'd alienate..."

New York Theatre Wire Feature

NEW YORK THEATRE WIRE WRITERS CHOOSE
10 BEST SHOWS OF 2005-2006 SEASON

by Philippa Wehle

Palisadian Post Feature

June 12, 1997

Washington Post Feature

AIDS: Telling the Unheard Stories

By John Barry

Special to The Washington Post
Friday, August 25, 2006; Page WE20

"Some people feel safe when they say that the problem belongs to someone else," Salter adds, "but AIDS touches everybody. The health of each individual on the planet either directly or indirectly affects everyone. It affects our potential as a human race."

  New York Times Feature

The Culture Project and Plays That Make a Difference

By Charles Isherwood

"Other recent successes in the genre include ... "In the Continuum," Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter's docudrama about women and AIDS in the United States and Zimbabwe

 Palisadian Post Feature

Nikkole Salter Comes Home With Off-Broadway Hit

December 06, 2006

Libby Motika , Senior Editor

"Actor/playwright Nikkole Salter talks the talk, walks the walk, spits the rage and bleeds the vulnerability of the African American women she portrays on stage at the Kirk Douglas, as if she were channeling the entire black female experience."