What I liked
The visual directing was creative, well conceived, and powerful. Nicky Clary, Cody Sechrist, and Mason Kennerly stood out as actors digging into a creative, personal experience to create their characters and their journey through the play.
What I didn't like
It felt like perhaps more energy needed to be spent on the acting in certain sections/‘episodes’, developing more truthful, present-in-the-moment, deep experiences for themselves, with each other on stage, which the audience is then privy to… would be more moving for us watching too. For this troup of young, talented, committed actors (and director) – investing more specific, original, unusual, “personal layers” to what is not said or unexpressed, to the inner lives of the characters, in each scene – then listening to their partners, through that filter, would help it grow even more as a show about the experience of Vietnam and war in general. Some performances/characterizations felt a bit one (or possibly two) dimensional, ‘acting on the words’.
My overall impression
Especially considering the constraints and speed of Fringe theatre, very well produced by Joquina JoJo Gentil, and beautifully directed by Joe Garcia, beautifully lit by Miles Berman. A classic “Vietnam play” that has been done by several generations of hungry actors, wanting to dig into the most intense type of acting work. Rough around the edges if you’re a sensitive audience. The writing asks the actors and the audience to deal with heavy stuff.
