Pam Noles

Girl Overboard

pam noles · June 22, 2010 uncertified reviewer
I saw this at a sold-out Comedy Central performance a few weeks ago, and still quietly giggle to myself about it when I'm sitting in my day job cubicle pitying myself. You'd think that getting paid to float on a cruise ship and entertain passengers for several months is easy money. That's what I thought! Because I had *no clue*! But through one specific encounter after another, Snowden shows you that, you know what? Maybe not so much with being trapped on a floating city with intermittent inte... full review

Man Up to Love

pam noles · June 22, 2010 uncertified reviewer
CAVEAT: I met Young Danny last year and watched him build the beta version of what became the final Man Up to Love production. Factor that in as you read on. Danny Ledsinger is so charming, polite and unpretentious just standing in front of you being himself that it's very difficult to imagine he ever had a problem with reeling in the ladies. But in this brutally honest and hilarious confessional of sorts, Ledsinger explains why he was lucky to have ever gotten laid at all, let alone find love... full review

The Stories of Cesar Chavez

pam noles · June 21, 2010 uncertified reviewer
Don't walk into this thinking you're going to see a documentary. This is a living piece, an absolutely lovely blending of fiction rooted in fact that glides and stomps through Chavez' life with deft surety. The story uses the fast as launch, with Chavez pleading with the Virgin for help during a period of personal strife in both his life and cause. Blanco's use of a range of reality-influenced fictional characters talking about Chavez or enacting their encounters with him is *particularly* ef... full review

The Waste Land

pam noles · June 21, 2010 uncertified reviewer
If like many others this is among your favorite poems, you should take time to check this production out and then talk about it with other people who also know the source material. It's so interesting how they did this. I've never seen a poem staged before and I don't know what to compare it to. They leave the text pure, interpreting it for us with knockout acting and fascinating movement that's kind of like dance, but not really. I very much enjoyed watching this, but I didn't always under... full review

Jesus: The Guantanamo Years

pam noles · June 21, 2010 uncertified reviewer
Turns out all of the overseas raves about Abie Philbin Bowman's portrayal of the Son of God working the stand-up circuit are indeed completely justified. This is just *great* stuff - politically astute, clever use of pop-culture references and surprisingly moving family dynamic stuff (that I wasn't expecting), all tied up in one long hilariously *devastating* attack on the obscenity that is Gitmo. There's more than one moment when you're wondering if he's *really* gonna go *there*?? AND HE MO... full review

British Invasion

pam noles · June 20, 2010 uncertified reviewer
NOTE: This review has been updated to correct my misspelling of Coppin's name. D'oh. Since I was here and all, I went ahead and rearranged it and threw in a few extra details. This review is specific to Nik Coppin, chosen at random based on my schedule availability. He roamed hilariously all over the place, but without losing the thread or scattering at random. Racial categorizations, spiders, more spiders, comic books, cricket, just-up-on-the-edge-of-blue stuff, sharks, hair, Australia... And... full review

Valentino: a play in verse

pam noles · June 17, 2010 uncertified reviewer
If you're wondering "what is this, exactly?" It's absolutely riveting, that's what it is. The story - pulled from true events - is excellent, filled with political and personal intrigue, high drama and some seriously bad-ass wordsmithing. Do not be intimidated by it all being in verse; it flows with the ease of conversation. You can follow the story without getting tripped up in "I'm listening to poetry." Costuming and period-accurate weaponry, not so much, but that is easily overlooked. ... full review