My overall impression
AFTERLOVE: LOVE LIFE IN THE AFTERLIFE, written by and performed by Ron Hanks and Betsy Reisz is one of the most brilliant and inventive shows I have seen at this year’s Hollywood Fringe Festival. In the dating pool of the afterlife, there are a LOT of choices. The show presents 8 couples of public figures across time and space as they attempt to create new and continued love with each other in the after life in heaven.
I asked Ron Hanks and Betsy Reisz how they decided on the characters and combinations for the show, and both told me they each had certain characters they really wanted to play and then figured out how any of them could have been matched up in heaven. Straddling the worlds of sketch comedy and theater, this show is brilliantly acted and astounding clever and will make you laugh at absurdities and ponder the deeper truths of our pursuits of love and fulfillment.
Much research was done to create the characters as true to their real life personas as possible. Placards are changed before each couple is presented, making you think about how these two could possibly be a match made in heaven as the actors quickly change costumes backstage. Appropriate music selections relating to the previous scene play between the pieces. Come discover what happens next in the love lives of public figures after their chapters have ended here on Earth.
I really hope these two extremely talented performers find a way to present their show again and again so more people have the pleasure to meet these imaginative characters!
