From the New Orleans Advocate:
For many Americans, Niagara Falls exists only in imagination or memory. It’s nearly effortless to conjure up images of the towering, majestic falls and the great rush of water, images often inspired by picture-perfect postcards or by distant recollections of a long-ago honeymoon.
But for residents of Niagara Falls, New York, the reality is much bleaker. Despite the famous falls, Niagara Falls is a Rust Belt town that has been on the decline since the 1960s. It’s the sight of dangerous toxic waste dumps, and it’s one of the country’s top destinations for suicides, right up there with San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.
“Niagara Falls,” a new play by Justin Maxwell, running through Feb. 5 (with additional dates to be announced) at The Theatre at St. Claude, blends fantasy and fact in an effort to capture the dark, dying essence of a once-great piece of American real estate.