The Trouble With Words

Tony Frankel, theatre critic for Stage and Cinema here. I vividly remember the first time I heard William Finn's MARCH OF THE FALSETTOS, Adam Guettel's FLOYD COLLINS, Michael John LaChiusa's THE WILD PARTY and Jason Robert Brown's PARADE. Already inured to Loesser and Sondheim, it was thrilling to hear from these brand new composer/lyricists: they were immediately recognizable as those who respected their forebearers' work yet created a wholly new style of composition for the stage. These moments of discovery are rare, but there is no denying when they occur; songsmiths such as these demand your attention with inventiveness, sophistication, accessibility and, above all, the ability to use songs as a way to express and heighten the complex... full review

(These thoughts are based on the 1 hour abridged version at Fringe Central and not the full length version at Actors Circle) Holy Shit, this show is great. As long as Coeurage Theatre Company continues to market this as “pay what you want” this will continue to be the best deal in town. It’s downright gorgeous. The Trouble With Words is a song cycle based around the concept of words – not finding the right words, saying the wrong words, last words, first words… If you go to see musicals for a story, this may not be the show for you, BUT if you go to hear amazingly beautiful new songs performed professionally by a solid six-piece band and sung by gifted performers YOU NEED TO SEE THIS SHOW. I’m excited to hear that Trouble will ... full review

When a theatrical production gets it right; when its artists pour their collective heart and soul into the creative process and meticulously craft a work that fulfills its own prophecy...magic is born. It is beyond exciting to see the fulfillment of such a piece in a tiny theatre in the midst of the Fringe Festival where Coeurage Theatre Company’s The Trouble With Words has proven that it’s not the size of the theatre, but the quality of the work that leaves a lasting impression. Categorized as a song cycle, The Trouble With Words by Gregory Nabours is a moving exploration of our relationship with words and how those words impact others. The evening is a series of “story songs” that are breathtakingly beautiful, filled with Nabours’ lush ... full review

Words and pictures and song and dance, one of those magical theatrical experiences where everything comes together! Bravo!... full review

“If I could find the words… If I could speak my heart. If I could open up… If I could sing my love…” Anyone wondering who the next Jason Robert Brown, William Finn, or Adam Guettel might be need look no further than Hollywood’s Actors Circle Theatre where Gregory Nabours’ The Trouble With Words has just opened to standing ovations. Like Brown’s Songs For A New World, Finn’s Elegies, and Guettel’s Myths And Hymns, The Trouble With Words is a “song cycle,” a collection of solos, duets, and ensemble pieces with relatively little book but a through-theme, in this case (to quote press materials) “the relationships people have with words as well as with each other.” However you want to describe The Trouble With Words’ nineteen songs, th... full review

Matters of love, sex, faith, and family are explored with utmost originality in Kate Fodor’s engrossing, deeply moving 100 Saints You Should Know, now getting an impeccable West Coast Premiere at the Elephant Theatre Company under the inspired direction of Lindsay Allbaugh. The less you know about Fodor’s much lauded play, the more you will enjoy its many unexpected twists and turns. It won’t hurt, however, to be introduced briefly to its five characters as they appear in the play’s first four scenes. Scene One: 30something Catholic priest Matthew O’Malley (Brendan Farrell) accidentally interrupts the similarly aged Theresa (Cheryl Huggins) as she is cleaning the rectory toilet—a meeting that sets the play’s tone as it sets up its next... full review

It comes as no surprise that finding words, outside of “a Fringe MUST!” to describe the brilliance of The Trouble With Words is difficult at best. The song cycle by Gregory Nabours is a wholly original examination of the everyday words we use. From the connotations of the word “nice” to being tongue-tied, from double entendre to empty promises, each of Nabour’s songs tackles a different issue with words. Nabour’s original, jazzy songs are funny, heartbreaking, relatable and catchy-as-hell. The tonal change from song to song can, at times, be jarring, but if anything, that is testimony to the emotional depth and performance prowess of the actors in The Trouble With Words. It is nothing short of a mystery that every star of this show do... full review

Memo to Hollywood Fringe. You need to find a way to allow a reviewer to revise or delete a review. As you can see, I mistakenly posted a review for another production before posting my review for The Trouble With Words an am unable to delete it. Hopefully you can find a way to remedy this.... full review