"While the play's characters ring with authenticity, Caged never neglects its serious political messaging. The play illustrates Black lives in dialogue with a racist system, in which state power reinforces cycles of violence while moments of extraordinary integrity and bravery break through the cracks. Fifteen minutes before the play begins, a dimly lit stage reveals a barred cell. Inside, Shaky Brown, 'a gifted blues musician serving a life sentence, ' plays the blues. Throughout the play, his cell haunts the stage. Yet, his music–at once marginal and persistent, beautiful and full of grief–remains as well."
–Temperature Check, PEN America
