The Girls in Blue

The life of an undercover cop is a double-edged sword. On one side is the purest reward: an anonymous contribution to the greater good. On the other side, major contributions by a cop can’t be shared with anyone on the outside. It’s a kind of life that could drive you...

By Jamie Laughlin

August 14, 2008

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The life of an undercover cop is a double-edged sword. On one side is the purest reward: an anonymous contribution to the greater good. On the other side, major contributions by a cop can’t be shared with anyone on the outside. It’s a kind of life that could drive you to madness, if you don’t have a strong support group to lean on.

Marj O’Neill-Butler learned this lesson hands on. While writing her newest play, True Blue, she immersed herself in cop life by spending 16 weeks in a Miami police training program. She absorbed the danger, the jargon, and the way these peace-keepers manage their personal lives while never turning completely away from the streets. She knitted those threads together into True Blue, a play about five female undercover cops whose worlds are in upheaval. They must find strength in each other when disaster shakes their professional and personal spheres. You can watch them do just that when the Women’s Theatre Project (Sixth Star Studios, 505 NW First Ave., Fort Lauderdale) and its Carbonell award-winning cast performs the world premiere tonight, and then every Thursday through Sunday until August 31st. Tickets range $10 to $25. Get them by calling 866-811-4111, or visiting www.womenstheatreproject.com.
Thursdays-Sundays. Starts: Aug. 14. Continues through Aug. 31, 2008

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