My overall impression
There’s not doubt about it — Seven Seductions is out there. I mean way out there. It’s hard even to explain what exactly it’s about. A one man show on seven flings of a country pop star, whose fans are predominantly squealing gaping teenage girls is probably the last thing I’d expect to keep me on the edge of my seat as a nearly thirty-year-old male. But here’s the thing — Thaddeus Shafer’s brilliant metamorphoses from one narcissistic male celebrity to the next does exactly that, keeps you laughing on the edge of your seat, and leaves you wishing for an eighth seduction when it’s all over. Seductions never gets old. Just as one the “seductions” starts to hit a nerve, Shafer undergoes a schizophrenic transition to the next neurotic lover. And, don’t worry if you don’t know Jake Gyllenhaal from the next guy — the transitions are eased in with an introductory videos that give the audience the rundown on all you need to know to get it. What’s perhaps most remarkable about Seven Seductions is that each of the seven characters played by Shafer is written by a different brilliant female playwright. It’s like you’re getting seven delicious plays in one. With so many shades of funny it’s really hard not to find your flavor of humor in Seven Seductions. So, maybe the best way to explain Seven Seductions is like a piece of hard candy that changes to a new and brilliant flavor precisely at the moment when you’re contemplating chewing. It’s hard to imagine a more inventive performance than Schafer’s in Seven Seductions of Taylor Swift.
