Drama cannot happen without a controlled release of information that keeps the characters in the room and the audience wanting more. It helps to have vivid dialogue, an unpredictable plot and a meaty theme. In The Purple Lights of Joppa Illinois, Adam Rapp has only information. Although he withholds it with some skill, I wish there were more going on here than mere suspense.
SOURCE: Time Out at 07:17AM on June 8, 2016