What I liked
Bravo to the Co-Writers/Directors, Pamela Eberhardt and Dan Testa. They not only have a formidable cast, but also have solid set-design, clever lighting, useful props, and a most impressive use of sound design with multiple callers.
The three performers are all wonderful! Emily Clark (Hannah) brings a nuanced, captivating performance as she tries to educate the new hire. Proving his formidable range, Lucas Alifano (Nick) is both charming and suspicious. Last, but not least, Jeff Scott Carey (Randall) is a supportive boss with an agenda all his own.
This show is text-book perfect for a one-act… but… what would happen if there was an Act Two???
What I didn't like
There is a content warning for this show, but I will reiterate it here.
I went to my own #METOO memories and while I will not fault the show for this, I want to make audiences aware that this can/could happen.
My overall impression
The Unknown Artists showcase a dramedy worthy of life well-beyond the Fringe. In their joint collaboration, playwrights Pamela Eberhardt and Dan Testa offer up the unsettling, “On the Line.”
For a trio of Seattle-based crisis hotline workers, help is only a phone call away. It’s about maintaining professionalism, not judging, and staying calm. Isn’t it? What happens when the calls start sharing a common thread of dread?
Past trauma never really leaves a person. And, regardless of whoever answers, the phone lines are going to keep ringing and ringing and ringing.
