Are we all savages? A rare book dealer’s desperate scheme to avoid bankruptcy goes shockingly awry in this darkly funny literary thriller with a surprise twist. French Stewart (3rd Rock from the Sun, The Middle, Secrets and Lies) heads the cast. May 11 through June 16: Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m., Mondays at 8 p.m.;Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90039; $25-$35; call (323) 960-4429; www.plays411.com/foreverbound
Forever Bound
Critics
LemonMeter
Reviews: 18
Reviews
Apostolina cites American Buffalo and Pygmalion as influences, and Forever Bound is in fact a mash-up of sorts of these two story prototypes. But despite the clever dialogue and twists that will likely take some audience members by surprise, the play ultimately feels like just that—a combination of two things we have seen many times before.
FOUR STARS… a delicious series of mysteries and revelations… darkly funny… a terrific cast.
Go see it! You won't be disappointed. This production at the Atwater Village Theatre is one more example of the emotionally driven, high quality work you can see there. Forever Bound stands out as a work of emotional intensity that transfers over to the audience. At points it is almost addictingly uncomfortable to be so close to so much intensity in a way a film can rarely reproduce. This is what makes theatre stand out as an art form.
...director Ann Hearn Tobolowsky and Apostolina engender eye-opening suspense as well as laughs, with the help of a sensational cast -- French Stewart, Emily Goss and Rob Nagle as well as Apostolina himself.
Ann Hearn Tobolowsky directs with a generous hand. In fact, to her credit, it doesn't show.
A heist, a surprise, and a moral dilemma turn playwright Steve Apostolina's world premiere dark comedy into the one L.A. play you can't afford to miss. French Stewart stars as a down-and-out bookseller, with cockroaches taped to his walls and increasingly limited options, until his best friend offers an unorthodox solution. The ethical implications of a way-out-of-left-field plot twist bring up a fascinating "what would you do" question in this multi-layered Poe-like examination of human behavior directed by Ann Hearn Tobolowsky.
Is "Forever Bound" a great play? No. It's good. And it's a play that's going to make you feel smart. Is this a fantastic production of this play with a terrific cast? Definitely.
Commencing as a wry comedy about a nebbish whose life is on the downturn, it culminates as a riveting face-off between good and evil.....
Despite its crucial lapse into illogic, "Bound" is elevated by the technical proficiency of the performers and a dynamic staging. If, like Alice, you can practice believing impossible things and suspend your disbelief, it may be worth a try.
Expect to be bound to the edge of your seat. Expect L.A. theater at its most original and unpredictable. Expect all this and more from Forever Bound.
It's a thriller with lots of humor to temper the tension. It's eerie and dark on one hand, with the interaction between Apostolina and Stewart providing the necessary comic relief.
In a superb simplicity, the writing, the acting, the space, the dynamic tension, moral compass and of-the-day reasoning come into play with a hyper-real, perfect synergy. - Very Highly Recommended
Steve Apostolina's sharp humor is amazingly topical in a clever subterranean way. As our country goes to shit at the hands of a mentally-challenged madman and we are all collectively questioning and redefining our morality on a daily basis, though the laughs are frequent in Forever Bound, we are ultimately left with a reason to contemplate what is moral and what actions are truly acceptable in the world today.
The world premiere of playwright Steve Apostolina's FOREVER BOUND artfully produces scores of suspenseful "will he/won't he" moments performed by the talented cast of four. Director Ann Hearn Tobolowsky keeps a firm hand in guiding this intermission-less piece smoothly and efficiently to its conclusion.
...whatever the motivation or inspiration what appears onstage in “Forever Bound” is without question one of the most compelling plays currently on stage anywhere... I assure you that the process will be spellbinding.
...this production is entertaining and satisfying, and fans of dark dramedies are encouraged to buy a ticket. - RECOMMENDED
In Forever Bound, a world premiere at the Atwater Village Theatre, playwright Steve Apostolina, director Anne Hearn Tobolowsky, and an astonishingly talented cast fearlessly take residence on that razor's edge, and best of all, they make it seem effortless. It is a thrilling experience.
A BONA FIDE MUST-SEE… The playwright's pace of revelation is too engrossing, too delicious to reveal anymore of the plot… The actors, under the incisive, fast paced direction of Ann Hearn Tobolowsky, deliver crisp, nuanced performances that are at once both searing and emotionally gripping while dancing on the knife edge of riotous comedy.
Apostolina cites American Buffalo and Pygmalion as influences, and Forever Bound is in fact a mash-up of sorts of these two story prototypes. But despite the clever dialogue and twists that will likely take some audience members by surprise, the play ultimately feels like just that—a combination of two things we have seen many times before.
FOUR STARS… a delicious series of mysteries and revelations… darkly funny… a terrific cast.
Go see it! You won't be disappointed. This production at the Atwater Village Theatre is one more example of the emotionally driven, high quality work you can see there. Forever Bound stands out as a work of emotional intensity that transfers over to the audience. At points it is almost addictingly uncomfortable to be so close to so much intensity in a way a film can rarely reproduce. This is what makes theatre stand out as an art form.
...director Ann Hearn Tobolowsky and Apostolina engender eye-opening suspense as well as laughs, with the help of a sensational cast -- French Stewart, Emily Goss and Rob Nagle as well as Apostolina himself.
Ann Hearn Tobolowsky directs with a generous hand. In fact, to her credit, it doesn't show.
A heist, a surprise, and a moral dilemma turn playwright Steve Apostolina's world premiere dark comedy into the one L.A. play you can't afford to miss. French Stewart stars as a down-and-out bookseller, with cockroaches taped to his walls and increasingly limited options, until his best friend offers an unorthodox solution. The ethical implications of a way-out-of-left-field plot twist bring up a fascinating "what would you do" question in this multi-layered Poe-like examination of human behavior directed by Ann Hearn Tobolowsky.
Is "Forever Bound" a great play? No. It's good. And it's a play that's going to make you feel smart. Is this a fantastic production of this play with a terrific cast? Definitely.
Commencing as a wry comedy about a nebbish whose life is on the downturn, it culminates as a riveting face-off between good and evil.....
Despite its crucial lapse into illogic, "Bound" is elevated by the technical proficiency of the performers and a dynamic staging. If, like Alice, you can practice believing impossible things and suspend your disbelief, it may be worth a try.
Expect to be bound to the edge of your seat. Expect L.A. theater at its most original and unpredictable. Expect all this and more from Forever Bound.
It's a thriller with lots of humor to temper the tension. It's eerie and dark on one hand, with the interaction between Apostolina and Stewart providing the necessary comic relief.
In a superb simplicity, the writing, the acting, the space, the dynamic tension, moral compass and of-the-day reasoning come into play with a hyper-real, perfect synergy. - Very Highly Recommended
Steve Apostolina's sharp humor is amazingly topical in a clever subterranean way. As our country goes to shit at the hands of a mentally-challenged madman and we are all collectively questioning and redefining our morality on a daily basis, though the laughs are frequent in Forever Bound, we are ultimately left with a reason to contemplate what is moral and what actions are truly acceptable in the world today.
The world premiere of playwright Steve Apostolina's FOREVER BOUND artfully produces scores of suspenseful "will he/won't he" moments performed by the talented cast of four. Director Ann Hearn Tobolowsky keeps a firm hand in guiding this intermission-less piece smoothly and efficiently to its conclusion.
...whatever the motivation or inspiration what appears onstage in “Forever Bound” is without question one of the most compelling plays currently on stage anywhere... I assure you that the process will be spellbinding.
...this production is entertaining and satisfying, and fans of dark dramedies are encouraged to buy a ticket. - RECOMMENDED
In Forever Bound, a world premiere at the Atwater Village Theatre, playwright Steve Apostolina, director Anne Hearn Tobolowsky, and an astonishingly talented cast fearlessly take residence on that razor's edge, and best of all, they make it seem effortless. It is a thrilling experience.
A BONA FIDE MUST-SEE… The playwright's pace of revelation is too engrossing, too delicious to reveal anymore of the plot… The actors, under the incisive, fast paced direction of Ann Hearn Tobolowsky, deliver crisp, nuanced performances that are at once both searing and emotionally gripping while dancing on the knife edge of riotous comedy.