“A foolish, mild little concoction—really, a stand-up routine disguised as a play...The lead characters in ‘Hot Mess’ are named Max and Elanor—both are comics—and they are little more than stand-ins for the authors, Dan Rothenberg and Colleen Crabtree, whose story this is...There is never the slightest doubt that these two will get together...Silverstein's direction is, as always, professional...‘Hot Mess’ is a pretty cold cup of coffee.”
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"Wonderfully performed, smartly mounted, and minor, though enjoyable romantic comedy, 'Hot Mess'...The often playfully crude dialogue is snappy and the appealing characters are well drawn. There are many classic set-up and punch line bits a number of which land with amusing results. Lasting an hour, it’s a mildly satisfying short play that makes for simple entertainment...Crumm and DeVito have a marvelous chemistry together and terrific mutual comic timing."
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"If you’re a fan of comedy, especially blue, with romance thrown in for a theme, then you’ll have some good laughs...Molnar has most of the punch lines and is a standout in this three person show...Directed by Jonathan Silverstein the play runs at a fast pace."
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"Rothenberg and Crabtree have captured a sticky moment that might play out in any new love story with sheer honesty and absolute delight. Rather than going for cheap laughs, Rothenberg and Crabtree allow realistic conversations in a realistic scenario to stew in their own natural comic juices...With its vaudeville-esque moments played out in perfect timing by all three actors, there’s never a dull moment and the through line is clear."
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"An innocuous play performed by an appealing cast that has the slightest of plots...Streaked with dialogue and situations and jokes that are supposed to be funny, but aren’t. This is a problem, since the three main characters are all supposed to be professional jokesters...To be fair, I did laugh twice...There really isn’t much substance...The actors are charming enough, and the play’s running time brief enough, that 'Hot Mess' might well work as a date night for some undemanding couples."
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“For a play about comics, the humor-for all its reliance on raunch and a running joke about whether Max ever took it up the you-know-where-doesn't rise above that on any sitcom…If you think a guy calling his girlfriend ‘Poopy Pants’ is a gut buster, this show's for you. Others, I imagine, are offering sympathy laughs, the kind you force to make the actors feel better…Crumm…and DeVito…acquit themselves well enough, considering their uninspiring material.”
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“The situation at first seems rather shallow, but as the play progresses it becomes increasingly entertaining, largely because of the appealing acting...Although the play is on the thin side, the authors have provided an amusing set-up in the ultimate revelations, and Crumm and DeVito, abetted by the outrageousness of Molnar, do the rest under the snappy direction of Silverstein.”
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“Director Jonathan Silverstein makes sure that the one-liners and descriptions that have been honed by its authors deliver their payload smoothly. ‘Hot Mess’ also benefits from the warmth and attractiveness of its leads…Ultimately, even with mostly adept comedy writing and the authors’ daring in tackling so personal and touchy a subject, the result, feels lumpy and overly earnest. ‘Hot Mess’ isn’t a hot mess, but it feels like it needs more time in the oven.”
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