LaBute New Theatre Festival 2017

"Theatre enthusiasts will be thrilled by the LaBute New Theater Festival. There are four distinctive one-act plays being performed...Each of the plays strikes a different mood, making the entire program fascinating...Bravo to the outstanding group of playwrights, directors and the actors who bring LaBute New Theater Festival to the stage." Full Review

"The winners of this new-play festival, named for the noted playwright Neil LaBute, seem to have been chosen mostly for their LaButian characteristics, including a sour, misanthropic view of male-female relations and a taste for outrageous plot twists...There's really little of interest here as a showcase for playwrights; the 'LaBute Theater Festival' turns out to be more useful as a calling card for its talented cast." Full Review

"LaBute’s opener proves a hard act to follow. In ‘What Happens in Vegas,’ LaBute gives us a darkly funny pas de deux...There is the risk, really just a suspicion, that we are watching promising scene studies—works in development—rather than realized plays. If pressed I guess I could drum up a definitive difference. But I’m struggling with it. On the one hand ‘Vegas,’ for all its brevity, feels fully formed and completely realized, while ‘American Outlaws’ begs a good deal of indulgence." Full Review

"Written by Neil LaBute, 'What Happens in Vegas' is by far the strongest in style and playfulness...The four plays are all a bit too light in substance to make this a fulfilling night of one acts, but a cast that works hard to elevate the individual pieces doesn’t hurt. It’s a wonderful thing that LaBute is lending his name and talents to foster new work, I just wish they all could manage to rise to the same level of the namesake’s play, but at least Aslip is there in the finale to bring it b... Full Review

“There is nothing new here, nothing thought-provoking, nothing that raises rich enduring question…Kel Haney directs LaBute’s ‘What Happens in Vegas’ with efficiency…It is difficult to know what the point of the play is…One would have to search hard to find any enduring questions raised in Adam Seidel’s ponderous and overlong ‘American Outlaws.’ ’American Outlaws’ is flat from beginning to end…’Mark My Worms' is perhaps the weakest of the four offerings." Full Review

"A delightful gem and an enjoyable trifle follow two negligible works...'Homebody': In 35 minutes, Mr. McKinley delivers a very well-written, plotted and satisfying one-act play...'What Happens in Vegas': A puerile, smutty linguistic exercise that’s out of 'Oh! Calcutta!' or a 'Saturday Night Live' sketch from the 1970’s...'American Outlaws': Director Pierson’s capable staging and the pallid performances of Brown and White’s hyper acting magnify the weakness of the material." Full Review

"The first, and the cleverest, is the new LaBute work, titled 'What Happens In Vegas.' It features an excellent Clea Alsip...Almost as enjoyable is Cary Pepper's 'Mark My Worms'...Does not overextend its premise and has the sense to end while we're still caught up in the grand silliness of it all...Neither of the other two plays quite reaches the degree of sharpness in their writing or their timing...It's also a good opportunity to observe three different directing styles." Full Review

"A rollicking evening of marvelous mayhem with surprising sardonic twists you won’t see coming until they are upon you. The evening of four one-act plays slips by quickly because of the faultless direction, clever staging, functional set design and precise timing. All combine to create a neat package of entertainment with clever undertones…Pepper’s play is pure, comical genius...I and audience members were doubled over snorting in laughter from start to finish." Full Review

"Told with affection by a small ensemble playing multiple roles...While the premise for each sounds intriguing, the execution lacks a certain amount of substance. The characters and the circumstances are interesting, but that’s about the extent of the depth of these pieces...I didn’t find the events particularly compelling—when I could identify the event at all...Unless you’re a big fan of Neil LaBute and his style of storytelling, the festival might leave you feeling unsatisfied." Full Review

"'What Happens in Vegas' is cleverly written and well realized by Kel Haney. Alsip and Hogan excel with impeccable timing and subtly expressive body language...The characters of Adam Seidel's 'American Outlaws' don't feel as fully-realized...The four one-acts form a collection that is entertaining on balance but uneven...Doesn't offer much in the way of diversity of voices. All four of the one-acts are written by white men, and the majority center on male characters." Full Review