Non-Registered Critics: Steven Leigh Morris
The Spanish Prayer Book
In its gentle, unassuming and sometimes playful way, The Spanish Prayer Book stands in defiance of tribalism and barbarism, old and current, like some lonely protestor holding up a placard in a vicious storm. If anybody sees and appreciates that placard, then the playwright’s efforts will not have been in vain. The play meets its goal by connecting people and ghosts through an historical dreamscape, from the Spanish Inquisition through Nazi Germany, to New York and London in the early 21st century.
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
None of this would have worked without the dexterity of the cast. In her multiple roles, Jennifer Hasty portrays a surliness that’s weirdly nuanced and terrifying. Brady Dalton Richards is a veritable gymnast on the stage, leaping like a gazelle, then, as Lucky, rolling on his back and scratching his privates endlessly, eliciting howls of mirth from the children present. Rachel Weck beguiles as the first child to own Edward, before she morphs into unrecognizable variants as, for instance, the Hobo.
Faith Healer
Yet the production's ultimate salvation is Ron Bottitta's Teddy. With a perfect Cockney dialect, he sashays and quips and tells jokes (the stupidity of one of his clients — an artistic genius three-year-old whippet named Rob Boy, who mesmerized crowds by playing “Come into the Garden, Maude” on the bagpipes) with an easy charisma. He's like an uncle from London's east end. - RECOMMENDED
Venus in Fur
This visceral transformation in voice, articulation and body language is all Sauer. Even her rabbit-eyes are impish one moment and regal the next, returning to impish on the turn of a dime. This is a performance of pristine dexterity. - RECOMMENDED