Words Unsaid

The narrative style, characters, relationships, and story in Philadelphia, Here I Come! are all defined, to one degree or another, by experiences of chosen silence, or of words unsaid.

In terms of narrative style, the division of the central character, Gar, into two independently functioning entities embodies this theme. More specifically, Private Gar says things that Public Gar is unable or unwilling to say. In other words, while Public Gar more often than not chooses to not say what is on his mind, Private Gar says almost everything that Public Gar withholds. The irony is that no one, other than Public Gar, hears what Private Gar has to say. In that sense, the play’s style embodies the fact that Gar, as a whole person, keeps his inner life almost entirely silent when it comes to interactions with the world.

The same is true for...