Odessa

This show has a very strong script with strong characters. Unfortunately when I saw this production on opening night, the characters seemed to all be insane, neurotic, mean, and dumb, instead of bringing out each persons vulnerability, their fears, their wants, and their needs. I wanted to care for them but I didn't. The chemistry between Cliff and Alice was completely missing. They were at each others throats from beginning to end, yelling at each other, even when they both wanted to devour each other. Alice's character was supposed to be "sweet, dumb, and weak" but the sweetness was completely missing as was her weakness. She was a strong, crazy woman from the beginning. Hard to believe a man would fall for a woman like that (not even ... full review

Odessa is such a fun piece of theatre. I loved being transformed into this post-apocalyptic world with a cast of characters who are just trying to survive. The performances were fantastic. I especially loved watching Bethany play the take-no-bullshit Preacher. I only wish the play delved a little deeper into the consequences of the power struggles the three characters experience as they navigate this strange world where there isn't much left of anything. ... full review

Odessa by John Tyler McClain. Review by Jenny Lower. **This review first appeared on www.stageraw.com** In this world premiere written by John Tyler McClain and directed by Carly D. Weckstein, Earth Up Top is a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the casualty of an unspecified disaster that has left bottles of Clean scarce. Below ground, Alice (the marvelous Joanna Bateman), wearing a tattered blue dress, tends her plants and practices the waltz, awaiting the return of Cliff (Bruce A. Lemon, Jr.), with whom she barters sexual favors in exchange for Clean. Their tenuous existence is upended by the capture of Preacher (Bethany Esfandiari), who turns Alice’s head with tales of Odessa, a survivors’ enclave, sparking a power struggle with Cliff. Ala... full review