A play about a halfway house for teenagers in trouble, Wising Up! asks, "Is it possible to help straying kids?" and the answers, "Possible, yes; but exceedingly difficult. If I can help one, it's worth the effort," says Barbara Williams, administrator of The Lodge. The residents include Annie, who thinks everyone hates her; Katey, a 17-year-old prostitute caught between her pimp and jail; Chico, a 14-year-old Hispanic who can't pass exams because they are given in English and he can only write in Spanish; and Jamie, the administrator's own son, hooked on drugs; and other teenagers in trouble—all misfits rejected by society and placed in The Lodge rather than in jail or reformatories. Barbara Williams (Baba) does wonders with the kids, but the social worker keeps interfering and threatening to close the place.

Hindi Brooks, a veteran TV writer for family shows, has remarkable insight into the lives and worries and problems of troubled teenagers, as demonstrated in her very popular Making It! This new play will have a strong impact on parents, teachers, school administrators—everyone whose job it is to try to point young people toward happiness—and on the kids themselves.

For all groups (perhaps too mature for young children).

Others by Brooks: Captain Noah, Computer Pals, Exeunt O'Brien and Krasnov (An Evening with Eve)

See also: Awareness Plays for Young Adults