My overall impression
The timing could not have been better in this charming, touching play. The actors were perfectly cast, with the part of the overbearing mother looming over the set and her fellow performers, even when she wasn’t present onstage. Shila Ommi has a strong and capable knack for directing, and it was her relationship with her son Don, played by the attentive Mojean Aria, that was the most complex onstage. Rebecca Forsythe’s take on the Diva Next Door was astonishingly fluid. Her performance of a woman trying to feel special by making someone else feel loved was simple and lovely to watch. She was comfortable in how uncomfortable she was, and as a fellow actor it was inspiring to watch. These two gifted young actors fell in love on stage, hurt each other in front of an audience and made us feel like we were spying on a private moment in a dingy apartment, rather than a carefully rehearsed and well performed play. Ommi is a sharp director and beautifully powerful actor. Butterflies are Free is a Must See.
