Ray Bradbury's Pillar Of Fire

If you can only see one show this year, THIS IS THE ONE!... full review

The performance is masterful. A dance of darkness begins and we find dead superstition arisen as William Lantry in the NEW world. Bradbury's masterful text is resurrected, the sound exact, and the future scientist appropriately serene. Brillliant how to construct a world with some dirt, chalk and our minds. You will be consumed! ... full review

Bill Oberst Jr is fantastic. Let's just get that out of the way. It's a one man show and he's the man. And he's huge. Such a great performance. To say "And the the material is Ray Bradbury" is underselling the weight of what's going on here. This is Ray Bradbury at his early best. You can see so much of his future stories in this piece. Poe, Lovecraft, fire, autumn, a seemingly absurd premise played out to its logical and most human conclusion. Censorship. Persecution. Technological neo-puritanism. It's all there. And in Oberst's skillful hands, it just flows. There are no real highlights. The whole thing is a highlight. Here's how you know. The lights went out and I was sorry it was over. In fact, with 2000 shows to see, I'll probabl... full review

There are few words to describe the power of live theatre and an energetic and heartfelt performance by any actor. The opening performance is always powerful as the actor takes ownership of their character, sees, and feels the fruits of their rehearsals. First performances are the true awakening of a character as exhibited by Bill Oberst, Jr. in “Ray Bradbury’s Pillar of Fire.” I was enthralled when I saw it the first time and saw the power of this incredible actor live on stage. Originally intended as a “reading” of this Bradbury story, Bill’s body language along with a few well-placed props and split second timing brought forth the humor and the horror of a life without imagination in the distant future. With great pleasure I return... full review

PILLAR OF FIRE (Platinum Medal) Ray Bradbury’s Pillar of Fire was originally published in 1966, as part of “S is for Space” a collection of short Sci-Fi stories aimed at young adults, which was always one of the most page worn volumes in any junior High School library. In 1975, Bradbury, the constant creative tinkerer, adapted it for the stage. It is unlike anything else that Bradbury ever wrote, yet, paradoxically, it is a conflux of elements that would always be inherent to his style; the fusion of the rational with the irrational, the lover of literature, the modernist secure in science, the superstitious primitive, cowering at the bumps heard in the night, the poet and the brute. What is perhaps so jarring about “Pillar of Fire” is ... full review