Pam Noles

I pretty much loved every single minute of this hilarious tale of race, sexuality and his stubborn attempt to not engage in family draaaaammmaaaaa. Figured it would be good, but *had no idea* it would be *that* good! Les Kurkendaal does these amazing shorthand descriptions of all of these people he had to deal with as he walks you through what happened to him and it just works perfectly. Another thing I like about it was this could easily have been a mean show, but it wasn't! As he is mocking ... full review

Was so glad I was able to get out of work in time to see this because it sounded interesting. It's exactly as advertised - a collection of stories about people who dealt with a funeral of some kind. Stacy Mayer is flat-out charming, and the impressions she does of the different people she zips back and forth between are a hoot. I particularly liked the boyfriend, not just how she played him but the story he told. It was one of the shortest in the collection, but among the three strongest. ... full review

It is not easy to tell people how they can be sometimes, but apparently Jacquetta Szathmari has no fear of being shanked behind the theater, because in this trio of linked stories that's exactly what she does. It's hilarious, dangerously true, and has the added bonus of serving as critically needed education for dual audiences, but the lessons drop wrapped in engaging entertainment. There's a couple of lines in this piece that will stay with me for a long time. The essay in the middle w... full review

I saw this at a sold-out Comedy Central performance a few weeks ago, and still quietly giggle to myself about it when I'm sitting in my day job cubicle pitying myself. You'd think that getting paid to float on a cruise ship and entertain passengers for several months is easy money. That's what I thought! Because I had *no clue*! But through one specific encounter after another, Snowden shows you that, you know what? Maybe not so much with being trapped on a floating city with intermittent inte... full review

CAVEAT: I met Young Danny last year and watched him build the beta version of what became the final Man Up to Love production. Factor that in as you read on. Danny Ledsinger is so charming, polite and unpretentious just standing in front of you being himself that it's very difficult to imagine he ever had a problem with reeling in the ladies. But in this brutally honest and hilarious confessional of sorts, Ledsinger explains why he was lucky to have ever gotten laid at all, let alone find love... full review

Don't walk into this thinking you're going to see a documentary. This is a living piece, an absolutely lovely blending of fiction rooted in fact that glides and stomps through Chavez' life with deft surety. The story uses the fast as launch, with Chavez pleading with the Virgin for help during a period of personal strife in both his life and cause. Blanco's use of a range of reality-influenced fictional characters talking about Chavez or enacting their encounters with him is *particularly* ef... full review

If like many others this is among your favorite poems, you should take time to check this production out and then talk about it with other people who also know the source material. It's so interesting how they did this. I've never seen a poem staged before and I don't know what to compare it to. They leave the text pure, interpreting it for us with knockout acting and fascinating movement that's kind of like dance, but not really. I very much enjoyed watching this, but I didn't always under... full review

Turns out all of the overseas raves about Abie Philbin Bowman's portrayal of the Son of God working the stand-up circuit are indeed completely justified. This is just *great* stuff - politically astute, clever use of pop-culture references and surprisingly moving family dynamic stuff (that I wasn't expecting), all tied up in one long hilariously *devastating* attack on the obscenity that is Gitmo. There's more than one moment when you're wondering if he's *really* gonna go *there*?? AND HE MO... full review

NOTE: This review has been updated to correct my misspelling of Coppin's name. D'oh. Since I was here and all, I went ahead and rearranged it and threw in a few extra details. This review is specific to Nik Coppin, chosen at random based on my schedule availability. He roamed hilariously all over the place, but without losing the thread or scattering at random. Racial categorizations, spiders, more spiders, comic books, cricket, just-up-on-the-edge-of-blue stuff, sharks, hair, Australia... And... full review

If you're wondering "what is this, exactly?" It's absolutely riveting, that's what it is. The story - pulled from true events - is excellent, filled with political and personal intrigue, high drama and some seriously bad-ass wordsmithing. Do not be intimidated by it all being in verse; it flows with the ease of conversation. You can follow the story without getting tripped up in "I'm listening to poetry." Costuming and period-accurate weaponry, not so much, but that is easily overlooked. ... full review