Disengaged
By Lee Barton; San Francisco, Play-Comedy,

Children over 16 could enjoy it. Any adult over 178 will despise it; Bring a parka.

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1play = Disengaged
2name = Grant
3email = grant@mnnet.com
4rating = 4 Stars
5review = Definately worth seeing. I want to see it again because I felt like I missed much of the content-rich, stylized dialogue. The story was over in a flash, and so chuck-full of rapid-fire, thought provoking retorts, that I would be trying to digest one line while three others were jettisoned on to my plate.

1play = disengaged
2name =
3email = sabine@aol.com
4rating = 4 Stars
5review = By the sound of some of this show's previous reviews, it sounds like we might have a few folks jealous of disengaged's writing. thick, yes. Modern day Shakespeare, maybe. But definitely intellectual and ethereal, the kind you say back to yourself and get some of the references days later. But mostly, this show has the best acting you'll see in the fringe! The female leads, Ms. Reed and Ms. Wendt, glorify the stage. Sexy, sexy people who can act. Worth going just for this. Sweet story with clever turns but is badly lit at the Lorraine Hansberry.

1play = Disengaged
2name = brewster
3email = brewster_david@hotmail.com
4rating = 2 Stars
5review = Things I liked: the aunt's ghost dragging her Jacob Marley chains of all the wedding rings from her 12 weddings, the performance and presence of Ms. Alyssa Wendt (and OK, I admit it-her red hair, too). And it was interesting to see Mayor Willie Brown playing the uncle. I liked the orange and deep red dress shirts very much. And some things were OK. But..

I'm sorry to say, but I was. "Disengaged," that is. At first, I thought, 'very clever script.' then 'too clever script.' then 'I'm watching modern Shakespeare.' I guess it's a personal preference, but I don't like watching actors struggle to breathe life into dialogue that is so stylized and unnaturalistic that people couldn't possibly be having it. Why doesn't anyone say: "Wait, let me think about that metaphor for a second.....OK....OK...I get it. Now prepare thee for my retort!" Why isn't there just ONE character who keeps saying: "Huh? What? What the hell is wrong with all you people? Speak English!" Maybe it would be better if everyone killed each other in a swordfight at the end.

Also, I felt the characters lacked distinction. All the women were femme fatales (all the better to trade bon mots with?), and all the men were nervous nellies (Ok, the uncle was a broken wretch). I knew the ending would happen, and happen as it did, but I did not believe it from the writing. I liked the lead actor's look, and he had moments, but he didn't pull off the role.
review = Add This Review

1play = Disengaged
2name = Vince Vitale
3email = WorldGazer@aol.com
4rating = 1 Star
5review = Disengaged
Disengaged is SO cloyingly pretentious. The author has spent countlss hours creating heavy simile, metaphor and weighing characters' lines down with whatever other "deeply meaningful" convention he could dig up that he forgot about the audience. I only stayed to the end in the hope that there might be something worthwhile. There wasn't. Attempting to write with the depth of the Bard requires actors who project and don't garble their lines. Only Susan Nichols as the dead aunt projected properly so we could all hear her lines. Another thing: plot does matter. The premise of a nephew who must sell a bunch of wedding gowns in several weeks so his dead aunt's spirit will rest in peace is meaningless. I could go on lambasting this pretentious piece of trash, but why bother.

1play = Disengaged
2name = K. T. Miller
3email = Kaziel@aol.com
4rating = 4 Stars
5review = Poetic, sometimes ascerbic dialogue demands an attentive ear, but is the central attraction in this production. A satire on the rites and tribulations of engagement and marriage (and the avoidance thereof), the play is set mostly in a bridal salon. It has an interesting concept, a lot of ironic humor, and good acting.