What I liked
This show has by far some of the most specific and inventive stage combat I have ever seen. I have fought either hand to hand or with swords in a good number of my own acting credits, and I have yet to see a show that was as inventive or as effective in showing every bit of what it takes to fight on stage. The fighting styles of each super hero corresponded exactly with their personality, and the fights served to both move the plot forward and to show us more about each of the characters, which is exactly what a fight is supposed to do. The commitment given by each actor to their characters approach to wielding their power/ inflicting violence( depending on who was doing it) I have only ever seen matched by physical theater troupes in the UK. It was really quite impressive.
What I didn't like
There were some inconsistencies in the logic of having StarChild(Steph) want to fight so hard to stay with her husband, M-Pulse(Kev). Their love and devotion was quite evident and felt real and strong from both sides, but there were still some instances were StarChild would approach M-Pulse when he was acting like a sexist ass(as he is called out to be by Jonathan in the play), and it seemed like she was just brushing his behavior under the rug. If that was supposed to be what was communicated then it did a great, nuanced job of doing that, but especially given StarChild chooses in the end to go back in time to try yet again to tell Kev about her powers at great personal risk, the audience dosent really have any reason to root for her to make that choice. If that is the story that was supposed to be told then it was quite well done, but I would liked to have had more of a reason to has to why she made that show.
My overall impression
Spoiler Alerts for following review!
An intense physical show with zanny, campy comedy bits, coupled with two strong lead performances, Tattered Capes asks a pretty super question- what would you be willing to give up to be with someone who may actually not know you at all?
