Review by anonymous
June 06, 2018What I liked
Annie continues to innovate her work and take risks, scaling way back from the growing production design of her ABC series and presenting a raw, bare-bones show focused entirely on emotion and performance.
What I didn't like
The show attempts to balance two elements: an audience-interactive conversation, and a solo monologue. These two elements conflict with each other and themselves; the conversation is not able to develop enough for it to be the source of emotional connection, but the conversation disrupts the rhythm of the story that Annie shares, lessening the monologue’s impact. The space is too informal and intimate for the show to be just a monologue if the conversation was removed, but giving more time to the conversation would be further disruptive to the story.
My overall impression
As another reviewer noted, this is likely to be a polarizing performance. I am very happy to see the positive response that others had to the show, however, I did not experience the same emotional connection to the material that they did. I don’t want to be dismissive to Annie Lesser’s loss, and I admire her attempt to grapple with the death of her grandfather through such an intimate experience with an audience member, but the show did not resonate with me or cause me to reflect on my own close relationships or experiences with death (which is clearly the intent).
