What I liked
The way Samantha and Kyla tackled really difficult subjects with dignity, respect, and a touch whimsical comedy.
What I didn't like
from one solo performer to another, it can benefit from being about 20 minutes shorter.
My overall impression
This show needs to be commissioned so that it can tour nationally. The first thing that came to mind after experiencing Samantha’s solo performance was “what happens next?” This show was masterfully written with an incredible sense of dignity and integrity. Samantha is a powerful performer that effortlessly morphs into a variety of characters that are charming, entertaining, and even at times scary. Samantha tackles difficult topics of life and death, mental health, sexual assault, and suicide among others with a brilliant strokes of comedy, magical realism, song, and dance. Samantha’s confidence is the light that guides the show through the various ups and downs of a friendship that is forged in love, a guidance that is blessed with divine intervention, and an angelic force that never loses hope, reminding us that we are more powerful than we can ever imagine. Samantha tackles existential questions with the kind of ease and simplistic wonder that only an innocent child can. I found myself extremely vulnerable at times and wept during some of the more difficult moments of the show. Although this was never supposed to have been a one woman show, it truly wasn’t. Kyla’s directing was fluid, fun, and expertly uses the spaciousness of the Jaxx Theatre without having Samantha be imposing. The direction felt freeing and natural. I hope to see this show again in its next iteration.
