Cowboy Mouth

Tony Frankel, theatre critic for Stage and Cinema here. Here is a link to my updated review of COWBOY MOUTH. http://www.stageandcinema.com/2011/07/17/hollywood-fringe-2/... full review

A passionate play put together by passionate people. Cowboy Mouth is riveting for all of its sixty minutes as we watch two desperate people caught in the liminal space between needing to leave and needing to stay; needing to be loved and needing to be saved. This production is as raw as it is nuanced, set in a tiny, cluttered space that barely contains the sheer force of its actors. And rightly so: Slim and Cavale are bursting at the seams. Go see Cowboy Mouth, you'll better for it. ... full review

Tony Frankel here, theatre critic for Stage and Cinema. As impressed as I am with the commitment, passion and vision of the UC San Diego grads involved with the production of Sam Shepard's existential one-acter COWBOY MOUTH, I found myself distracted - and ultimately exhausted - by the over-enthusiastic acting and direction. Shepard's 1971 play is an autobiographical account of the brief and torrid affair he had with singer Patti Smith, who not only co-wrote the piece, but starred in the original production with Shepard himself. The play hit so close to home for Shepard, that he bolted after one performance to reunite with his wife. COWBOY MOUTH is a brutal examination of an affair used as a tool to fill life's eternal voids. The glari... full review

The passion, energy and bipolar personalities of the characters tied me into a world I don't wanna be in, but just have to know more about. The performances were stellar. Some of the best actors in the Fringe. I wish I could see it again, but have a vivid memory to keep me for a while. Always secondary, but very important to me as a visual person, was the lighting and staging and use if the space. The effort to use every inch of the stage in intriguing ways was my favorite facet of the show, strange as that may be. ... full review