What I liked
“Man vs. Armadillo” is enjoyable from beginning to end. Kevin Scot Allen gives a performance that is both hilarious and full of pathos as an aging man determined to get that goddamn armadillo that’s keeping him awake. The rapport between him and Ryan, who plays his son, is really touching and aggravating in a million little familiar ways. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll be paranioid about armadillos before you go to sleep.
The ending image of “The Holy Name of Apostasy” is really solid. It’s symbolic, resonant, and most importantly, makes sense.
There is instrumentation throughout both as underscore, primarily drums. I could see some people being turned off by it, but once I got used to it, I was on board. The music did its job of accentuating pivotal moments or of building tension.
What I didn't like
Brandon’s performance in the role of Dylan is a bit of a mixed bag for me. On one hand, he’s very good at conveying the dense imagery throughout “The Holy Name of Apostasy,” but on the other, he has a tendency to act too much. I think it’s something I’m particularly sensitive to, but it sometimes felt like he was playing the emotion more than he was trying to communicate with his scene partner.
My overall impression
An enjoyable duet of plays connected by the theme of… well, guilt. Not all the ideas land with a hundred percent precision, but anyone looking for fun and sympathetic character dynamics will be satisfied.