BOBBYWOOD: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BOBBY THE BELLBOY?

Bill Ratner is a wonderful storyteller, and this story is well worth experiencing. He brings a time to life that is truly gone, but makes it immediate and relavent through his depiction of a memorable character. Go see it!... full review

Very engaging. Great storytelling!... full review

Beautifully told. Enjoyed every second of it. Perfect bookend to a day filled with amazing theater at Fringe!... full review

Bill Ratner is the ultimate storyteller. I could sit at his feet and listen all night. This hour flew by and I felt like I had a new friend. His stories about his troubled and charismatic uncle exposed old Hollywood with pathos and humor. It was an exquisite, funny, sometimes sad nostalgic journey. Kudos Bill for your warm, funny and honest confessions. When this man gets behind the mic on stage, you see why he rocks the VoiceOver world as one of the tops and musical accompaniment by the superb Jonathan Mencken completes a masterful evening. Thrilled to know that Jonathan will be accompanying us (the SPOLIN PLAYERS) on 6/13. ... full review

Bill is so intimate and relaxed on sage you forget you ware watching a performance and feel like a good new friend is telling you an amazing family story. If he were alongside you on a plane you'd want it to circle the airport a few times before landing so you'd get to hear it all. It evokes a little bit of dirt under the collar of old Hollywood, but that's not its true game. It is an intimate family tale told by a consummate story teller...with a most inventive musical genius behind him. This is one you should not miss Hal Ackerman UCLA Screenwriting Co-area head... full review

Bill is a master storyteller whose performance makes excellent use of his in- demand voice, his voice-over skills, and his ability to create fascinating characters with accents, expressions, and small nuances that have you believing that one minute he's Russian, the next minute Minnesotan, and the next minute he's Ethel Mertz. Or Desi Arnaz. There's not a moment in the just-shy of an hour story of Bobby the Bell Boy where he lets you off the hook. It's a story that captures Hollywood, human possibility, human frailties, and the audiences' rapt attention. I loved every minute, and so did the 9 guests I took to see it!... full review

I was transfixed by Bill's voice and nuance of characters in his life as he retold his personal story! As he wove the narrative of his long anticipated and way over due meeting of his Uncle Bobby, the beloved Bobby the Bellboy of the I Love Lucy Show fame, I was truly fascinating and spell-bound by the numerous aspects of his experience. Go see Bobbywood before it's too late!... full review

I would say I was knocked out by this performance. A friend brought me, so I didn’t know what to expect. Although it’s told as a story, Ratner speaks a lot of the dialogue (in voice and quite convincingly) and it feels in the best sense a bit like a play. It’s also constructed like a play- which is to say that Ratner has an appreciation for conflict, character and progression. The hour seemed like half of that and it just felt nice to be in the presence of genuine talent and to be entertained. Kudos!... full review

A very enjoyable evening presented by a master storyteller, Bobbywood is a sensitive portrait of an uncle and an era. Bill Ratner shares his youthful discovery of a 1050’s icon or two (or three). Don’t miss it.... full review