ABOUT THE SHOW
Conjuring the spirit of Court Jester, Clown, Fool and Harlequin, The Long Gravel Road is part mythology, memoir and part invention and tells the story of thoughts inside just a few seconds in a person’s mind while retrieving the morning paper. Accentuating essence of experience over rational text this work invokes French actor/director theorist Artaud’s famous radical manifesto on ‘Metaphysical Mise en Scene’ in which a noise, glance, gesture or touch when combined can create a feeling of unity with all things and dovetails into space where movement and sounds are more predominant than plot.
The Long Gravel Road
Critics
LemonMeter
Reviews: 6
Reviews
The very energetic and very candid Abbott Alexander is a great story teller/performer and The Long Gravel Road is an imaginative, poetic, funny, poignant and thought provoking dreamy journey full of surprising twists and turns. In short, Abbott Alexander's highly original The Long Gravel Road is eclectic, eccentric and often electric so be sure to check it out on it's limited run.
In a bewildering, long-winded, stream of consciousness train of thought peppered with non sequiturs, playwright and actor Abbott Alexander delivers a 90-minute monologue that will leave you noggle-swoggled and mind-boggled, to say the least.
bbott Alexander has created a very unique piece of theatre that is engaging, captivating, witty, uninhibited, entertaining, and thought-provoking. He re-enacts and mimes moments that flash into his mind from his past; a stream of consciousness rant, history lesson, inner conversation. Delusive, suggestive, connective, yet scattered; using quotes, phrases, name-dropping, references to all sorts of random topics and a lot of miming and physicality to illustrate his words; letting out humor, anger, astonishment, rage, annoyance, adoration, remorse, pride, goofiness, delight, admiration, astonishment, regret, humiliation... and I think you get the idea.
I loved this play. It's performed with energy, beauty and inspiring candor. As Alexander's sweat drips from his ever moving and dancing and twisting body, he breathes out truths. Accompanied by his clearly brilliant musical friend Garrett Parks, he creates an imperfect doorway into his consciousness, a glimpse inside his mind and perhaps, a little of his heart. We are left reeling from the experience, transfixed and transported and ultimately breathlessly elated by such an open heart and an intricate mind of an inspired storyteller. It reminded me of “Under Milk Wood,” the way it stirs the heart, soothes the soul, and reminds us how we are all so much alike really, in all the most important ways. Brilliant!
Hats off to this writer/performer for evoking plenty of dreamlike imagery and stirring, heartfelt visions.
Again, this solo show as presented on Theater West's stage is more of a poetic slam that doesn't slam. It doesn't suck either because it's idiosyncratic! And yes, there is a bit of humor added to this mix of verbal prose. One may have to seek for it, but it's indeed present. For those that desire their stage theatrics verbiage as a stand alone, Abbott's presentation is for that fan. As the theory states, you have to be there to really receive and interpret to the message! That long gravel road is there, so take it!
The very energetic and very candid Abbott Alexander is a great story teller/performer and The Long Gravel Road is an imaginative, poetic, funny, poignant and thought provoking dreamy journey full of surprising twists and turns. In short, Abbott Alexander's highly original The Long Gravel Road is eclectic, eccentric and often electric so be sure to check it out on it's limited run.
In a bewildering, long-winded, stream of consciousness train of thought peppered with non sequiturs, playwright and actor Abbott Alexander delivers a 90-minute monologue that will leave you noggle-swoggled and mind-boggled, to say the least.
bbott Alexander has created a very unique piece of theatre that is engaging, captivating, witty, uninhibited, entertaining, and thought-provoking. He re-enacts and mimes moments that flash into his mind from his past; a stream of consciousness rant, history lesson, inner conversation. Delusive, suggestive, connective, yet scattered; using quotes, phrases, name-dropping, references to all sorts of random topics and a lot of miming and physicality to illustrate his words; letting out humor, anger, astonishment, rage, annoyance, adoration, remorse, pride, goofiness, delight, admiration, astonishment, regret, humiliation... and I think you get the idea.
I loved this play. It's performed with energy, beauty and inspiring candor. As Alexander's sweat drips from his ever moving and dancing and twisting body, he breathes out truths. Accompanied by his clearly brilliant musical friend Garrett Parks, he creates an imperfect doorway into his consciousness, a glimpse inside his mind and perhaps, a little of his heart. We are left reeling from the experience, transfixed and transported and ultimately breathlessly elated by such an open heart and an intricate mind of an inspired storyteller. It reminded me of “Under Milk Wood,” the way it stirs the heart, soothes the soul, and reminds us how we are all so much alike really, in all the most important ways. Brilliant!
Hats off to this writer/performer for evoking plenty of dreamlike imagery and stirring, heartfelt visions.
Again, this solo show as presented on Theater West's stage is more of a poetic slam that doesn't slam. It doesn't suck either because it's idiosyncratic! And yes, there is a bit of humor added to this mix of verbal prose. One may have to seek for it, but it's indeed present. For those that desire their stage theatrics verbiage as a stand alone, Abbott's presentation is for that fan. As the theory states, you have to be there to really receive and interpret to the message! That long gravel road is there, so take it!