139 stories by "Scotty Bennett"
"The Making of a Great Moment" by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb and directed by James Barry is a play about a pair of actors who are the principal players and only members of a bicycle theatrical tou…
It takes considerable skill for competent actors to play at being bad actors, and many of the cast members succeed. It is not a bad play, but the overarching problem with the show is that it…
David Dean Bottrell is both a craftsman and an artist, as evidenced in his delightful and exquisitely entertaining show "Dear Mr. Bottrell, I Cannot Possibly Accept This." From his Prologue …
"The Jester's Wife," written and directed by T.J. Elliott, is a fanciful attempt at reconstructing the source of the myth of Dymphna, a legendary medieval Irish saint who is considered the p…
This play demands attention to the smallest details and a thoughtful encounter with what truth is being hidden and revealed in both the spoken text and the silent actions. It leaves one with…
"alt-Hamlet," written and directed by Suzanne Willett, loosely uses "Hamlet' 's plotting and character types in a carnivalesque/grotesque black comedy. Inspired by the US Supreme Court's 202…
"Click" by Drew Pisarra and directed by James Dean Palmer is a play inspired by the film "Breathless," written and directed by Jean Luc Godard and considered a seminal work in establishing F…
"Baby Foot," written and directed by Tim Venable, follows the interactions between three addicts in the very early morning in the lounge room of a rehab facility. The two central characters …
It takes great skill and imagination to make an impromptu idea flow with conviction and commitment. And, so it is with the wonders of As You Will, a company of engaging, talented actors who…
"A Girl Far From Normal" by Robyn Bishop-Marin takes us on that stroll down the lanes of her memory, and it is fearsome, delightful, heartfelt, wrenching, and funny. Matthew Harrison's direc…
"The Gospel According to Heather," with book, music, and lyrics by Paul Gordon, is a story about a teenager's struggles with fitting in with her contemporaries, finding a boyfriend, and deal…
The show is a deft combination of action and humor with elements of horror. One of the production numbers, "Dissection Dance," is an homage to the "Time Warp" choreography of "The Rocky Horr…
"Freedom Summer," written by Toby Armour and directed by Joan Kane, is a semi-autobiographical story of the playwright's experiences that summer as one of those students risking their lives …
Einhorn has reshaped the dramatic elements of the original play to focus primarily on antisemitism. What he achieves is a show that highlights how the antisemitism of the 16th century is con…
"GAS" by Charles Cissel explores the "never-never land" of a war without end. It is a time when the characters examine the unreality of the experience. It occurs within an ill-defined dimens…
The play is structured as a mystery and that is being revealed with sensitivity and care. As each element is shown, a clearer picture of what is at stake emerges. A discussion in Act II abou…
The music is well-done, with the songs fully integrated into the storyline and lyrics that help define essential elements of the character's nature and are filled with inside Star Trek refer…
The main issue with this show is the lack of clarity in the book. Who is the play about, the father or the son? Act I is primarily a story about Paul Sub and his business ventures leading up…
I left with questions about what I had just experienced. It was not a feeling of dismissal but one of consideration for the experience. It was and is not a question of good or bad but whethe…
Where does one begin to tell the story of two manifestly successful lawyers who mixed professionalism with adolescent ideation? A case where one wants a career as a serious law practitioner …
"Bringer of Doom," written by Joe Thristino and smoothly directed by Mark Koenig, is a comedy about Lotte and her effort to exact revenge against her estranged mother, Esme, because of a pub…
"Darkness of Light: Confessions of a Russian Traveler," written and directed by Michael Mailer and Alexander Kaletski, is a story of an artist's journey from the restrictions of one politica…
"Lunch Bunch" by Sarah Einspanier and directed by Tara Ahmadinejad is a rapid-fire comedy with farce ensemble timing in the service of a serious underlying topic, presented on a bare-bones s…
"Trilogy II" by Garry Batson, directed by Evria Ince-Waldron, is three one-act plays depicting the struggles of African-American families faced with difficult and troubling events. The good …
The direction by Ella Jane New delivers this emotionally complex story with skill and sensitivity. There are only a few instances when the action doesn't entirely ring true, such as the open…
