Thursday, October 13, 2016

review - ALL IN THE TIMING - Mesa Community College Theatre & Film Arts

Samantha Hanna and Seamus McSherry
Photo:  Angela Salazar
highlights from local critics reviews - (click link at bottom of each review to read complete review)

Click here for more information on this production that runs through October 15th.


" David Ives' All in the Timing is a collection of short plays that all relate to the themes of time, language, the choices we make, and the power of words. Ives' well composed skits provide Mesa Community College's Theatre and Film Arts program students a chance to exhibit their comical skills in this well designed and astutely directed production. Ives wrote the six shorts in the late 1980s...All have elements of humor and are occasionally provoking in their message. However, as interesting as they are, some run on a bit too long and there isn't anything that ties them all together or a big message that the last piece delivers. Knowing that going in will most likely increase your enjoyment of the production. The MCC cast is good and consistent throughout..In the best of the bunch, Brittney Watson and Ethan Doe deliver exceptional performances as two lost souls finding they share a "Universal Language."...Samantha Hanna always does exceptional work at MCC and in "Variations on the Death of Trotsky" she is hilarious as Mrs. Trotsky who, upon finding a future encyclopedia, discovers that her husband is about to die. As Trotsky, Seamus McSherry matches Hanna with his strong comic abilities ...Kevin Dressler's direction plays up the humor in these pieces without sacrificing the importance of the language and the comic timing. Angela Salazar's set design, which includes several movable set pieces set against a large stationary railing with glowing balls that resemble, somewhat, the planets, and a floor that comes alive in the darkened scene changes, plays into the universal theme of the impact of language. All in the Timing is less about the sum of the six short pieces delivering a larger message than the beauty of what the individual pieces stand for and how the importance of words and timing relate across a broad spectrum of scenarios. While it could prove a challenge to both the actors and the audience, MCC's production is engaging and entertaining with a cast that delivers on the humorous aspects, as well as a rich appreciation for Ives' language which makes the challenge that much more rewarding." -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway (click here to read the complete review)

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