Flux Theatre Ensemble

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In a recession, value counts more than ever, so the good folks over at The Happiest Medium have come up with a great idea - two reviews for the price of one! With their new feature, 4 cents, two reviewers see the same play and then go back and forth, old school Siskel & Ebert style.

Into this arena step Karen Tortora-Lee and Antonio Minino. Karen's thoughts count a lot with us, as this is her sixth Flux show, after the Trilogy, Pretty Theft, and The Lesser Seductions of History. This was Antonio's first Flux show, but as one of the esteemed producers over at Maeutic Theatre Works, currently producing Barrier Island, we were thrilled he was able to attend and opine.

Enough build-up: their reviews are up, and both are happily positive. As befits a review with two reviewers, I will offer two teaser quotes instead of one:

"The secret to Flux’s success — as I’ve seen time and time again, but illustrated so beautifully in Jacob’s House — is how all the arms of talent reach out and clasp each other so firmly."

"This is a well-focused generational play that studies the complexities of one single family during a time of exposed emotional gashes, and after all the greed, muck, jealousy and memories are cleaned off, the blood is thicker than any little old house"

So read the whole thing here, then get your tickets, and after you've seen the show, please share your thoughts here Read the full story

Karen Tortora-Lee's review for The Happiest Medium is up, and I absolutely love her description of the actors as acrobats:

Watching the Flux Theatre Ensemble bring August Schulenburg’s “The Lesser Seductions of History” to life is like watching seasoned acrobats performing an intricate, balletic routine; one which -in order to succeed- relies on trust, timing, and blind leaps of faith … knowing that your fellow performers are exactly where they should be and will deftly handle the assist, even as they fully commit to the leap they are taking themselves. One miscalculation and the whole thing comes tumbling down, and then forget about the net. But no one here falls; in fact, they soar.

This is the kind of play where every actor depends absolutely on the other - with all 11 actors on stage almost all of the time, and the scenes so tightly interwoven, you can almost never let your guard down.

She also has a beautiful take on the character of Martha, but to read that, you'll need to read the review, and then get your tickets, and after you've seen the show, please share your thoughts here. Read the full story

(Photo: Isaiah Tanenbaum. Pictured: Cotton Wright, Candice Holdorf)

Karen Tortora-Lee, a theatre blogger with neighborbee blog, has written a warm review that really engages with the twists and turns of the story.

Read it here, and then come see the show! Read the full story