God's Waiting Room

What I liked

I liked some of the acting…Randy Vasquez was I felt the most accomplished actor in the play. I also liked Geoffrey Gilbert. I thought Denise Carole did the best she could with a character that was for the most part written as a caricature. As the play progressed and her emotional turmoil began to reveal itself I found her character more acceptable.

What I didn't like

The play is too long. Less is always more!

The staging of the play was set up like they were shooting a 4 camera sitcom where each actor would be covered by a camera/angle.
Unfortunately, whoever was sitting in the side chairs were constantly upstaging themselves whenever they had to speak to Lois who was consistently sitting up center.

Very poor staging. I could not see the whites of Carlos’s eyes until the end of the play when he stands up, down left. Very disconcerting. So the director needs more experience in his staging, his lighting of his actors, and his writing which I found caricaturish for not only Lois but also for Stephen. The writing did not seem current…almost a throwback of homophobic behavior.

When Lois admits that she was raped the director goes directly to black. Yes, it’s a shocking moment that the audience is not allowed to observe her reaction after blurting out her most humiliating moment. Stay a beat or two and fade to black…much more dramatic.

The wardrobe for Stephen was just a bit too suburban…I mean give the guy a little class instead of making him look like he just got off the train from Kansas.

The nurse is really not necessary…certainly not running on and off as much as she did.

I did not connect with Billy…I would have to read the play to be able to discern whether the problem is the casting or the writing of the character…or both.

My overall impression

I applaud the effort but the play written and directed by Mr. Rossi has a lot of problems. It is obviously an initial stage effort and I would encourage him to continue developing both his playwriting and his stage craft.