"Tackling October with its customary riveting vigor, the Rude Guerrilla Theater Company offers a compelling world premiere of Stowe's obscure script. Director Kit McKay infuses the staging with a dark, portentous mood, which provides a satisfying degree of anticipation, despite the script's ultimate lack of complete revelation or resolution. Likewise, McKay's gamely aggressive cast conjures a mesmerizing atmosphere of tension as a disillusioned group of people betrayed by societal ideals and the ideals they've created for themselves. Handling the raw script best are Kendall and Shearer/Stewart. As the drug-dazed Buzz, Kendall is a whirlwind of anger and fear. Hopped up and restless, his Buzz is an apt representation of belligerent youth. "
"There’s so much going on in such a short time frame (about 80 minutes) that it’s difficult to get your bearings. But where the content of Stowe’s play is difficult to digest, his style is like a deep snort of glue. From the jazz-inflected dialogue of the apocalyptic Neal Cassady-like Buzz (an excellent Gavin Starr Kendall—when he slows his diction enough to be understood) to its sudden shifts in tone and location, the play has the rhythm and organized chaos of a bebop improvisation, which director Kit McKay handles with flair."
"On the other hand, Thomas Baird, as the wise-guy pianist with a heart of gold, finds just the right pitch for the one- liners he tosses into the story. And Gavin Starr Kendall plays Benny Fox, the writer who's so eager for a hit that he'll put a tune to anything, with the perfect twist. He finds that spot between hilarity and desperation that is the show business life. It's too bad that neither one of these characters is on stage long enough to jump-start the show."
"...there are some promising performances...Kendall's likeable Len is a warm-hearted port in this angry maelstrom
Last revision: October 13, 2008
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