Luna Noctiluca

I was so excited to see this show. It has a great deal of potential, but they were definitely not ready for an audience. Most the the show was impossible to understand, as the actors diction was lacking. Many lines were just yelled. They are still struggling for their lines I think, which may account for many of the shows issues. The staging was poorly conceived, and the dances seemed out of place and shaky. I think with more rehearsal this show might shape up (Fingers crossed.)... full review

After having some time to digest the show, the only word that comes to mind about the show is uncertainty. I'm uncertain what the director wanted to say with the piece and I'm uncertain what the take away was supposed to be for the audience. Partially, I feel this is a script issue, as the original play "Salome" has always felt for me a piece of theatre that doesn't care about it's audience, it feels that it exists without the need of an audience and misses out on the symbiotic relationship of theatre and audience. I think the show has a ton of potential, but it still lacks specificity of intent. There were quite a few interesting choices with the show: the inclusion of the Woman as a side by side commentary with Salome, the ... full review

Not gonna lie. I went to see this show because I was already in LA for a different show, and a friend of a friend was in it. The name sounded cool, and I was intrigued as to what it was about. As soon as the performance began with a shaky tango, I knew was in for a long night. This show was trying to tell a modern version of Salome, but using the same text written by Oscar Wilde. It seemed like many of the actor's were phoning it in the entire time. First off, I couldn't even understand what HALF OF THEM WERE SAYING. Like the entire play. It seemed like a muffled mess of young actors screaming at each other. Also, with this modern re-telling there was the inclusion of a prostitute, who sings "call me maybe" and prances about the stage reciti... full review

This show definitely had tons of potential. I suppose we should have started to doubt things when we went to the address on the postcard (619 Formosa) and realized it was a residential area and the actual location was 916 Formosa. Fortunately we had left plenty of time so the location was just a minor hiccup but something to be aware of for other patrons. Being it was a preview performance I can overlook the technical issues of miscued lights, sound cues coming in too loud and the rather loud whispering coming from the tech booth. As the play started I quickly realized it was going to fall very short of it's promised sultry potential. It was a hybrid of modern day and ancient times that opened with a somewhat shaky and under rehearsed tango.... full review

This production, directed by one of my friends and esteemed colleagues -- Brooke Silva, is a great conceptual piece and a tough on at that. It's no east feet to put a show like this up. I commend her and the cast and designers for a of their hard relentless work. On the other hand, the show lacked polish. It needs some reworking and cutting of the script, as do ALL original pieces of art. Things get cut and put back in constantly. But I thought the idea was interesting. It's a very ambitious piece of theater. So all I can say is keep going, keep exploring, keep trying new things. DON'T let these anonymous reviews get to you. Keep trying to improve the work and piece of theatre you're creating. I definitely think that the woman told wa... full review

This show requires a mature open mind, because of its high context of adult situations. Luna succcessfully connected an old story to modern day complexity. The connection lends truth to the saying "nothing new under the sun". It really expanded the concept of what happens when people loose control over their emotions. The actors seemed to have taken their roles seriously as they joined the old with the new. ... full review

I really enjoyed some of the images in this piece. It's unfortunate that this production has had such trouble with the space and with the lights, because I don't think that these images are getting the credit that they deserve. The director does some cool things with the blending of the modern and biblical worlds, and draws interesting parallels both visually and textually. I feel that the script needed to be cut significantly. I felt that because the actors were trying to finish within the allotted hour, most of the dialogue was rushed. This became problematic for me during the Oscar Wilde sections, when the actors had to deal with heightened language. Salome is a mouthful, and the pace made it difficult for the actors to connect to (an... full review

I have given this show a positive review. But for one reason and one reason only: Kelsie Noel Hill. Kelsie play The Woman, a modern woman who plays in a story that plays concurrently with the other story in this play which is Salome's. I'll get to that trainwreck in a minute, but Kelsie's woman is captivating, taking lessons from Salome and explaining them in a modern context and she has many parts to play as if she's at times embodying every woman ever, she whispers into the ears of the other cast, making them do things they wouldn't normally do to explain some of the ridiculous actions that take place in the classic storyline. For me this show is about Kelsie Noel Hill, she is far and away the best actor on the stage, she knows what she's... full review

Saw this piece on Opening Night and had a fun experience. This Salome remix is worthy of discussion on the topic of desire. Using it to exploit others, to gain power or being consumed by it yourself this production offers an interesting commentary to these thoughts. Our experience as an audience was interesting, the pace was definitely quick and driving you had to stay alert to keep up with it. But there was an energy in the room you don't always get with an audience, we were in this journey together. There was this brilliant unplanned moment where one of the actors runs across the stage with 4 wine glasses as the characters prepare to toast Caesar. Well the actor moving so quickly suddenly lost her footing and the glasses began a free... full review