The REP Professional Theatre Company is continuing its season with the opening of another play this week, with director Robert Turano tackling the complicated relationship between a father and daughter in Halley Feiffer’s play “I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard.”

“Halley’s writing is a brilliant and brutally honest exploration of the relationship between a father and daughter,” Turano said in a press release. “I haven’t been this excited about the language of a new play since I read and then produced David Mamet’s ‘American Buffalo’ here [in Pittsburgh] many years ago.”

This two-person performance explores the complex relationship between Ella, a young aspiring actress, and her father, David, a once famous playwright. The pair, in a vulnerable, tell-all night, sit in their kitchen and discuss whether or not to read the reviews from Ella’s stage debut. Throughout the night, their relationship unravels, and they begin to understand the flaws within it and why it seems so hard to make each other proud.

Marketing and public relations coordinator for the Conservatory of Performing Arts, Cassia Sakmar said “I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard” is a show that is very relatable  to the audience, especially Point Park students, as the university is largely a performing arts college.

“[I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard] has to do with the performing arts. From the writing end of it, to the performance end of it, what the reviews are like,” Sakmar said in a phone interview on Thursday. “Even on the end of the media and seeing how the reviews affect the actor and the importance it has in their careers.”

Show-goers, like freshmen musical theatre major Jordan McMillan, said a performance like “I’m Gonna Pray for You So Hard” is important because of the themes and relationships it discusses.

“It’s impressive because it’s really difficult to capture father-daughter relationships the way that this show does,” McMillan said. “There are so many variables in real relationships like there is in the one portrayed in the show.”

Chloe Bendis, a senior broadcast reporting major, said the idea of a show where the audience gets to see the reaction of how performers take in review information can make media professionals think about the people they are critiquing in their reviews.

“You have to be careful as to what you say in the media,” Bendis said. “You don’t want to hurt others, and you have to know your limits.”

The show opens at the Pittsburgh Playhouse’s Studio Theatre on Sept. 30 and will run until Oct. 16. Tickets range from $10-$29 and can be purchased at the Playhouse’s box office or by calling at (412)-392-8000.

Following the Thursday, Oct. 13 performance, there will be a talk back with the cast. The talk back is a way for the audience to ask questions about the show and dig deeper into the writing of Feiffer.