"The show is at its best when something like accidental art happens, in which restlessness and exasperation mix spontaneously and combustibly with the unassembled elements of the play...It does give us an enchanting denouement. I won’t spoil it for those of you willing to swim through the ocean of ennui leading up to it. But I can say that the evening’s accumulated frustrations blend joyously into a wholly original love song to the maddening art of the theater."
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"Boredom is a component of '10 Out of 12.' The density of information and layered narrative is thrilling, yet at more than two-and-a-half hours, it’s still an endurance test. But if, like this critic, you served in the trenches of Off-Off Broadway, particularly in the ’90s, this backstage tour will be all at once a familiar haunt and a devilish maze."
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"Exceptionally funny and moving...The entire cast, under the jaw-droppingly fine direction of Les Waters, is dead-on. And it’s quite amazing to see Washburn pull the rabbit of real theater out of an obviously trick hat. My problem is that the rabbit is not very consequential...Cutting some of the conventional conflict might have helped keep the focus on what is so beautifully unusual about it."
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"You don’t have to be a theater geek to appreciate the human behavior on display...The show goes on too long — and maybe that’s on purpose...Between digesting what’s going on before our faces and being fed into our ear, '10 Out of 12' assumes stereophonic, if not symphonic, dimensions. As an audience member, you’ll look at shows with fresh eyes and ears — and marvel that any acting goes on at all."
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'10 Out of 12' is an excruciatingly detailed and totally realistic rendering of an all-night technical rehearsal at some small, unnamed downtown theater. Les Waters wrangles the 14-person ensemble with a sure hand and a keen sense of irony...The whole thing is terribly funny."
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"With everything that happens behind the scenes, it’s a miracle theater ever makes it to an audience. At least that’s the impression we get from '10 Out of 12...' Shockingly, for a show that’s basically about drudgery, '10 Out of 12' isn’t boring at all, though it goes on a little long...The one person missing is the fictional play’s author. Too bad: She’s missing a good show."
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"Les Waters’ fluid production hits a few easy targets along the way and as it crosses the 2.5 hour mark, the feeling of ennui settles in the audience as easily as those in an actual tech rehearsal...But Washburn and Waters truly nail the small details: the funny dances actors do to amuse themselves in lulls, the small talk about foodstuffs, the languishing regret of missed projects. It’s moments like these that keep '10 Out of 12' at a solid 8 out of 10."
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"'10 out of 12' takes the distinctly unglamorous form of an extended technical rehearsal off-Broadway. The result is occasionally as soporific as it sounds, but no one can accuse the playwright of presenting a false or romanticized version of the stage. '10 out of 12' is steadfastly, almost unsettlingly real...It's not pretty or exciting, but any true fan should understand how the theatrical bratwurst is stuffed."
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