Lanford Wilson’s “Fifth of July” is the UA theater department’s second production of the season. The play centers on a group of friends and family that reunite after years apart, and is set the day after the reunion. Throughout the play the audience is given hints and insights to the rocky past of the characters and the events that haunt them all. The play deals with the character’s confrontations of their complex past relationships and the realization and acceptance of their future. “The Fifth of July” is an engaging and emotionally driven play and leaves the audience with a sense of optimistic peace
for the futures of the characters.
            All the actors and actresses did a great job. The beautiful and talented Stacy Searle gave the most impressive performance of all portraying the rich and eccentric Gwen Landis. Searle was very natural and convincing in her role, really bringing her character to life. Anastasia Munoz (Shirley) also deserves an honorable mention. Munoz really did a good job of playing one extremely annoying,
overdramatic, and crazy thirteen year old. Munoz was a source of constant laughter and bouncing energy.
            Chris Hardin stars in the play’s lead role as Kenneth Talley Jr., a former hippy and Vietnam Veteran. Hardin did an excellent job portraying a deeply complex character, and deserves a lot of admiration for his mastery of becoming a man not only trying to deal with being crippled, but also trying to confront his very complex past relationships with the other characters. Hardin’s best  dramatic scene was where he fell while left alone in the living room. When he fell, I think the audience fell with him.
            Hunter Cain did an excellent job playing the book-reading, guitar- playing, strung out, leftover hippy Weston Hurley. Cain’s frequent outbursts of “no way!” were some of the most memorable scenes from the play. Cain can also play the guitar and sing very well! The music really added to the production.
            The set design was also very impressive. The stage design team really pulled out all the stops to give the set the look and feel of a real house. The furniture and decorations were very in tune with the time period, and the stage was very realistic. Once, when Stacy Searle’s character Gwen runs out the front door, it really looked like she was running out into the night.
             Everyone involved with the production did a great job. The play never seemed long-winded or choppy. The acting, setting, costume, and music together produce a very unique and entertaining play. The first half of the play is at first seemingly chaotic and confusing, but the second half brings it all together. The play deals with a theme we can all relate to - the sting and disappointment of the past. But "Fifth of July" also offers an uplifting hope, ensuring that things will work out, even after the fireworks are over.