CLICK HERE FOR RECENT REVIEWS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER CLICK ON PLAY FOR AUDIENCE REVIEWS FOR THAT PLAY
- @six
21/One
Another Ugly Duckling Tale
BabyLove
Before the End- A Boy Called Noise
cruel & unusual
Curriculum Vitae
Eating Skeletons
Exiles
Fall and Rise of the Rising Fallen
Flamenco con Fusion
Fuse
Get It? Got it. Good!
Get Laughs or Die Tryin'
Irma at the Movies & Frozen
Just For Laughs
Kingdom of Not- Neon Man and Me
- nEO sURREALIST sYSTEMS
Pomp & Circumstance
Readiness is All
Revolving Madness
sally: MIA / Sheepish
Secret Ruths of Island House
Sisyphus on Vacation
Stone Trilogy, Three Tales
Thanatics - A Rock Opera
This Lily Was (Fontana)
Thrilling Adventures of Elvis in Space
Tilting at Transformations
Visiting Bertha
Waiting for Bordeaux
Where the Sun Don't Shine
Woof, Daddy
Yellow Fever Express
Yorick & Co.
Play: Woof, daddy
Reviewer: annika
3 Stars
This is probably the best production
you could ever hope to see of "Woof, daddy".
Having said that, you should be warned
that overall the play is pretentious academic playwrighting. Think of it
as "Sylvia" done by Beckett. The play has lots of clever epigrammatic
language. However, take away the cleverness, and there's no there, there.
Given that the playwright has written a handful of books on theatre with
"Transversal Theatre" in the title, this is presumably an exemplar
of his theory of transverse drama.
However, if you manage to suspend any desire to relate to these characters as actual human beings, it's a hoot!
Play: Woof, Daddy
Reviewer: SF WEEKLY
A father and a son go duck hunting and, guns in hand, try to hash out
the deaths of the mother, daughter, and beloved dog while the departed ghosts
look on. At first the father speaks only in cryptic rhyming couplets and
allegories -"To eat a duck is not to eat a duck, but to be a duck is
to be eaten." Playwright Bryan Reynolds graduated from UC Berkeley
and holds a Ph.D. from Harvard, which might explain the layered language
and the multiple meanings, but he doesn't shy away from letting his characters
bust into fully choreographed loung-singer routines and episodes of passionate
sex on the side of the road. With skilled cast members (all of them pursuing
graduate degrees in acting), director Amanda McRaven stages and paces each
moment impeccably, shying away from what she describes as "tired vestiges
of realism." The ensemble uses dance, movement, and vocal sound layering
to convey Reynolds' haunting story of love, beastly secrets, and the deep
connection between man and ani!
mal. -N.E.
Play: Woof Daddy
Reviewer: Michael
5 Stars
This is Beckett at his absolute best. But Woof Daddy is not by Samuel Beckett.
It is by a college professor named Bryan Reynolds. The actors are brilliant.
But they are not famous. Neither is the director. Her name is Amanda Mcraven.
The performance was as tight as a frog’s ass. Not a drop of wasted
verbiage or action. This production is perfect. It transports us. The Transversal
Theater Company is great.
Play: Woof Daddy
Reviewer: Walt
5 Stars
This was the best show I've seen this year at the Fringe! Although the beginning
was a little psuedo-intellectual, the overall effect was mind-blowing. Specific
performances from Jason Vande Brake as the delusional if not criminal father
and Mercedes Manning as Sparkles the Dog were highlights. Jason's vocal
control and heart felt intensity proved to be a driving force through out
the show, while Mercedes' physical embodiment and eneregetic committment
to the role made her impossible not to watch. Can you say "Best of
Fringe"?
Play: Woof Daddy
Reviewer: Mia Paschal
Excellent on so many levels: the script, the commitment and talent of the actors, the direction. Strong, compelling work from beginning to end. I really hope to see this a second time, and I hope that many Fringers will see this production.
Play: Woof, Daddy.
Reviewer: Dan Wilson
4 Stars
It is rare to find a show that can reverse one's reaction to it. Within
the first few minutes, I had geared myself for a grueling hour of overwritten,
self-important non-sequitors... by the end I was enraptured. The beginning
of the show is certainly a problem, but the sharp direction, brilliant performances,
and compelling last half make it worth the while of sitting through the
opening.
Play: Woof, Daddy
Reviewer: David Smith
4 Stars
Amazing performances and total committment radiate in this psychological
tale of death, murder, duck hunting and dogs. It is a play that expects
the audience to listen and pay attention, which is great. The script starts
off way too "intelligent" and I still am not sure why, but when
it comes down to the last thirty-five minutes it is amazing.
The direction, the rhythms,the complete work of the cast makes this an incredibly
intense ride. The end will stick with you a long time.
Play: Woof Daddy
Reviewer: Marge Gordon
5 Stars
If you want to experience an exhilarating and hilarious overdose of weirdness,
see Woof, Daddy. This play pulls no punches as it treats the audience as
if we are very smart people and treats us to a story with more outlandish
twists than I can count. It all comes together to shock the hell out of
you as you cannot help but laugh and laugh, even at your own discomfort.
The acting was superb. It's an absurdist drama with great music theatre
-- all too strange, like a talking dog who has phone sex.