Gorey: The Secret Lives of Edward Gorey NYC Reviews and Tickets

"The offbeat illustrator proves a rich subject for a play, and writer-director Travis Russ’s 'Gorey,' does his archly kooky world justice...Mr. Russ’s decisive idea is to have three actors portray him at various stages of his life...The three constantly interact with one another, a lovely way to suggest Gorey’s inner questioning and the evolution of his sensibility through the decades."
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"Russ’s lovingly crafted play is less concerned with the nitty-gritty of Gorey’s publishing career...and more with his breezy evasions and elliptical musings on an eccentric, solitary life...The mood flits gently from whimsical to melancholy and dryly bemused...For the proud owner of the anthology 'Amphigorey' and its sequels, 'Gorey' (handsomely produced by Life Jacket Theatre Company) is a visit to an old friend who always amuses and sometimes surprises."
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"It’s an intriguing lure into the unhinged world of an erratic queer potato, not unlike a friendly invitation from Jack the Ripper to explore a squalid, unlit alley in London after midnight…With three men playing the same role, the play sometimes seems muddled and lacks focus. Still, at 75 minutes with no intermission, it’s an easy-to-take evening about an offbeat individual who could easily be called the American Lewis Carroll that is fascinating enough to make you want to learn more."
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"An odd, but beguiling, entertainment...Russ, taking an approach that might have pleased his subject, has assembled a series of brief, teasing scenes, into a collage-like portrait...All three actors are at home in their roles, fully convincing us that they represent one personality at different stages of his life...'Gorey' succeeds in bringing the man to life, highlighting his innate strangeness and arguing effectively that it may have been inseparable from a persistent loneliness."
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"Russ has combed through journals, interviews and letters creating an entertaining portrait of the creator of classic, droll, macabre books...As sympathetically played by Andrew Dawson, Aiden Sank, and Phil Gillen, all superb, the piece takes us backward and forward in time with cast often sharing the stage and interacting...When one waxes sentimental, the others look on with affection. Memories are corrected and embellished...A grand outing."
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"Throughout its 75 minutes at The Sheen Center, it is playful...For the most part, the Gorey stand-ins—starting and finishing each other’s sentences, as directed with ease and amusement by Russ—review his often hermit-like life...Not that much stage time is given over to the odd fellow’s inspirations, executions and grim, if not Grimm, themes...The absence of more discussion feels like a significant lapse."
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"A most pleasant evening...Travis Russ, writer and director, charmingly presents an interpretive drama about the prolific and darkly whimsical genius illustrator through three actors...The bittersweet of Gore’s loneliness lingers long after the performance. Kudos to actors Andrew Dawson, Phil Gillen and Aidan Sank for making the multi-dimensional and enigmatic genius so congruent, so real."
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"Playwright Travis Russ has comprehensively and ingeniously rendered Gorey’s life and career in this affectionate concise dramatization...Mr. Russ also is the director and his staging perfectly complements his writing. The expert placement of the actors combined with the outstanding technical elements achieves a visual liveliness as well as emotional depth...Fantasy and memoir are on dazzling display."
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“Andrew Dawson, Phil Gillen, and Aiden Sank are not only amazing performers on their own, but in these circumstances they are vital and their talents add so much to the experience...Director and writer Travis Russ deserves his own individualized ovation as well...From the three insanely talented men who perform the show to the intricately designed puppets that emerge for a scene, I was inside Gorey's world—his brain. It felt real, it looked strange, and it was brilliant."
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“The three men do a fine job of seamlessly transitioning between their actor selves and their respective portrayals of Gorey. Each crafts a characterization that seems to fully lift up the essence of Gorey...The author calls the play a 'fantasy memoir,' and I could not think of a more appropriate classification...As we discover the man behind the myth, we leave the theater with more questions than we anticipated, and isn’t that always the goal?”
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"Gorey is exposed as a hoarder with seven cats and no libido....The playwright’s biggest gamble is that Gorey is portrayed by three different actors simultaneously...Visually, this trifecta is effective...Intellectually, there are some missed opportunities. With a setup that’s ideal for reflection, we get only a couple tastes of what clever turns there could have been...One man’s muddle is another man’s treasure, and so the evening is full of little gems to discover.”
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"There are insights into Gorey’s creative process and a raw look at his abiding loneliness…There are moments of humor as well as pathos in this amiable production, but little in the way of a narrative arc. The actors are all appealing. My only quibble is that the play assumes a prior knowledge of Gorey’s work and would probably be puzzling to anyone who doesn’t have that."
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"Russ’s play, using a combination of Gorey's own words and the playwright’s reimagining, also fills in the complexities and contradictions, the yearning, loss, and humanity, contained in the space between 'strange' and 'fabulous.' All three actors are excellent separately and together, and play their 'Teds' as discrete parts of a whole, producing a touching production that is charming, warm, and at times melancholy...Gorey fans will enjoy this vision of a life and its art."
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"Interweaving is the essence of 'Gorey,' the dense fabric of his life composed of friends, passions, compulsions, creativity, and incidents large and small...The play needs more dramatic tension. There’s wry wit, charm, insight, gossip, illumination and mystery–but no suspense...One thing is missing: Gorey’s drawings...This is a real loss...Still, the play creates a mind expanding full world and I feel glad and lucky to have spent time in that imaginative place."
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"A delicious observation of a well-lived, if secret, life...Writer and director Travis Russ has crafted an engaging script, assembled a trio of charming and vibrant actors and a production team that bring to life a vision of the artist, brimming with creativity...There is a moment or two near the end where 'Gorey' falters and seems unsure where it should end...For the greater part of the evening, 'Gorey' is smart and cleverly crafted."
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"This play written and directed by Travis Russ should be at the top of your must-watch list this month. Funny, direct, ugly and beautiful all intertwine to create one of the best examinations of an artist’s life that I’ve seen on stage. It’s never corny, doesn’t take itself too seriously, but there’s no denying that its subtle philosophy and bold approach will have you researching Gorey’s work once the play is done."
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"The audience is taken on a poignant, funny, sometimes dizzying journey through this fascinating, reclusive, and ultimately often tortured life. We learn all at random through the hilarious, wistful, resentful and completely absorbing performances by the three actors...Without giving away the ending, there seems to be two of them, each actually fine...Overall, this is a delicious play about a fascinating man."
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"Every one of the actors is excellent in their parts--warm and affable and immediately endearing to the audience...'Gorey' is a play that anyone who is a fan of the artist will likely enjoy. Whilst there is more emphasis on Gorey's possible homosexuality than is strictly documented, the play is well done and incorporates enough facts to make one feel as if they are spending 65 minutes with Gorey himself."
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“I am happy to say that whether this is truth or fiction, the entire production of ‘Gorey’ is wonderfully inspired itself...Each actor is quite magnificent, echoing each other every so lightly while keeping an originality all to themselves...Each moment of dialogue and movement is crisp and filled with small bits of magic and wonder...Get down to HERE Arts Center and see this beautifully rich and powerfully sincere 'fantasy memoir' of a fascinating man.”
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