What I liked
On paper this is an interesting story: a lifelong search for an unknown biological father, conversations with a poster of a character from an excellent and ancient television program, being raised lovingly by a secret.
There are nostalgic elements and relatable moments – a snapshot slide of each year in the timeline- that is en pointe and congruent with setting the scene.
The prerecorded work was enjoyable.
What I didn't like
In live theatre, there is no fixing it in post. Unfortunately, in its preview performance, the intrigue of the premise trickled out within the telling. Physical and gesture work was deeply wanting between characters, and there was a general sense of meandering within blocking that did little to help focus the energy or pace.
The show relies heavily on multimedia but doesn’t take advantage of putting the audience in protagonist’s shoes in the pivotal moment of the production. Why wasn’t the big reveal on the big screen? Given the best interacting between characters happened when our solo artist faced upstage and in the dark, perhaps this show would be served up better as a stand up routine, as [unseen] evidence leads me to believe Paulina is a talented comedian, but what I just experienced was an unseasoned actor dropping their energy with every line. All this made me wish I had seen this production later in its run.
My overall impression
Paulina has one lifelong, burning question, but the production left me with many queries of my own.
