Critical Response/Audience Response/My Response.

Well, we've finally arrived at the last weekend of Dead Man's Cell Phone.  I can honestly say that I'm going to miss performing in it.  The whole company has been a lovely group to be around and audiences in general have loved the show.  Imagine my frustration when several reviews came out saying they didn't like the play.  They LOVED the performances but were confused and confounded by the play.  This left me confused and confounded.

For me, there is SO MUCH to the play... it's a beautiful story, told in a creative and whimsical way.  The area critics on the whole said it didn't make sense, there wasn't enough character exposition, etc.  Lemme tell ya, I think they totally missed the boat.  So do many "regular people" I talked to after the show.  It almost felt like, for the critics, it was "jump on Sarah Ruhl" time.  She's a hot, new playwright in theatres right now.  Perhaps she's reached the "we're sick of you Sarah Ruhl" stage in the critical world.  It's seemingly a part of fame in this country.  We love to love the ones climbing the ladder and we love to hate the ones who make it to the top. 

If you haven't seen Dead Man's Cell Phone yet, I hope you'll take the opportunity this weekend.  If nothing else, you've been assured great acting across the board. :) And I think, judging from the audiences' responses, you have a pretty good chance of coming away from the show thinking, "Wow!  What were those critic thinking!?"

That said.... I do respect all opinions.  Afterall, everyone is entitled to one.