What I liked
Strong solo performance, well-thought-out and often amusing, but with a more thoughtful subtext peeking through.
What I didn't like
Shorter than expected, with an annoyingly late start. It’s one thing to keep an audience waiting five minutes, but…!
My overall impression
UPDATE JUNE 18: Those who can’t get enough of Lyla may find 37 minutes doesn’t fulfill their expectations; for others, it will be enough. This 2017 “sequel” takes Lyla out of small-town TX and into Big Time Celebrity Culture, with the same dazzling wig but a whole new wardrobe and lots of local video footage pretending to be New York—-and the same large cast of off-stage voices to which we’re already accustomed! “Fish-out-of-water” is the theme, though (spoiler!) Lyla winds up back in TX with her friends, where she belongs!
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
As advertised, you don’t have to see the “original” solo performance prize-winner from a few years back to enjoy the current “sequel”, but I’m glad I took the trouble to see TEXAS LOVES LYLA! first, to provide a context for LIGHTS CAMERA LYLA. I went anticipating an AUNTIE MAME in Dust Bowl drag, a prairie “Dame Edna”, but midway this solo show took a turn I wasn’t expecting, from manic to poignant, and ended on a sober note which tugged at the collective heart of the audience.
