My overall impression
Great family and historical drama! With a piece like this there’s the danger of the show getting bogged down in its subject matter, but Writer-Director Brendan Russo has wonderfully crafted a well-paced play with a perfect balance of history, heart, and gems of dark humor. The entire ensemble deftly breathes life into their characters, with Adam Wylie and Vince Major in particular giving nuance and depth to two characters who might otherwise have been one dimensional—confederate-sympathizer and presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth, and his alcoholic, pretentious brother, Edwin, respectively.
Likewise, Eryn Guyton infuses their sister, Asia Booth, with a quiet strength and Erin McIntosh steals the audience’s heart as the play’s moral compass, Edwina. But these are just the standouts in a cast full of standouts. If there’s one weak point in this production it’s that a couple of the lighting cues seemed off, but that’s more than understandable given the short tech schedule Fringe shows have; hopefully those kinks were worked out in the preview performance. Overall, this play is a strongly executed, great piece of theatre—be sure to catch it!
