My overall impression
I started hearing the buzz about Tape during the opening weekend of Fringe and was looking forward to seeing it, but every time I tried, I kept finding it was sold out and I wasn’t able to get a ticket. Obviously, others had been hearing the buzz and getting in line first. I was finally lucky enough to see it on June 18, and am really glad I did. The buzz is definitely well deserved. This is a fast paced and exciting production and just twisted enough to keep you on the edge of your seat and wondering what’s going to happen next. The play took place in the Motel 6 and even in this tiny theater they pulled that off neatly and believably. I felt myself present from the opening scene to the end.
I loved Jason Karasev, a new McDreamy in my book, but more than another pretty face, amazing to watch perform as Jon. It can’t be easy to be in such a small theater where the audience can almost see your nose hairs and still stay focused and present to the characters’ lines and the evolving emotions, but Jason kept me believing his roller coaster ride to the end.
Donald Rizzo is fun to watch, a little scary with the ease that he played such a creepy and manipulative character – I do hope it was just acting. If it was, he’s superb. If not, he needs some serious counseling. I will watch for him again, just to be sure. Seriously makes me want to change my FaceBook privacy for fear of meeting up with someone in my past like Vince.
Juliana Long Tyson as Amy was a surprise to me. Not sure why, but I wasn’t expecting her character to show up beyond the reminiscing about her by Jon & Vince (I missed the trailer or failed to read my program) but when she did, she had a scene that made me realize she wasn’t just another beautiful young woman thrown in for eye candy, but a very powerful actor and a pivotal character to the plot . . .Kind of “what’s a nice girl like you doing in a . . .oh wait, you’re not all that nice, you’re kind of freaking me out!” An asset to the story to bring it all to that grab your gut and wonder what she’s going to do ending.
So the buzz is well deserved and I’d love to see this play again, maybe even in a bigger venue, but so glad I was finally able to get a ticket. Bravo!
