Simon Says

“The director, Myriam Cyr, and three solid performers make us part of the channeling, breathless and hopeful. There is also fine lighting work by John R. Malinowski, manipulating our reactions to the spookiness...Too bad this 90-minute play’s ending is such a letdown. Toward the end, it starts speeding toward a resolution that you can tell is going to be all too pat." Full Review

"Potentially interesting but dramatically dull play...Director Myriam Cyr hasn’t done much to channel this material from page to stage; the pacing is flat and the acting—despite several outbursts—lacks tension. Brian Murray still possesses the intelligence and charm that has made him a three-time Tony nominee, but he's going on 79 and, if I may use a baseball metaphor, has lost some bat speed." Full Review

"For a while, 'Simon Says' looks as if it’s going to be fun…Then, with James going into his complicated trance, the enjoyment begins leaking out...'Simon Says' turns into a tour de force for Goes as James. He twitches, he writhes, he tumbles, he switches voices, he falls, he goes numb, he looks if he’s dead…The channeler’s cavorting is initially engaging, then sillier and sillier until, finally, it’s no more than tiresome. By fade-out, it hasn’t delivered any substantive point at all." Full Review

"How much you like Mat Schaffer’s new psychic thriller, 'Simon Says', will depend on how you feel about the paranormal and reincarnation. If you are open to suggestion, you will go with its premise. If not, this is not for you." Full Review

“Unfortunately, you might just as well read a tract on the subject (by a believer) for all the dramatic impact of this piece. Explanations replace dialogue, clichés take over for character illumination, and the whole package is too neatly tied with a bow. Poor Anthony J. Goes has the unrewarding task of being occupied by spirits whose transition looks ridiculous...Director Myriam Cyr uses the staging area well...I actually have no issue with the premise of ‘Simon Says’, just with its script.” Full Review

"A contemplative discourse on science, the paranormal, reincarnation, and the connections between us…There are moments late in the play that feel both overstuffed and rushed, demonstrating that subjects such as past lives, existence, and souls are very hard to dramatize in a captivating way. That being said, the trio nimbly navigates through the somewhat murky waters...The play didn’t entirely gel for me, but it was nonetheless largely engaging." Full Review

"The play jumps the track and mainly becomes a platform for a very long and convoluted monologue in which James becomes the portal for a vengeful Simon's Karmic path, or rather more likely Schaffer's interdisciplinary discourse on the unity of all consciousness…You have to hand it to the actors who take it all very seriously and with every intention to make us care about their characters' souls in flux through the millenniums. What a treat it is see the always wonderful Murray." Full Review

"Murray lends gravitas to the story of a 'channeler'...One wishes he were able to lift Schaffer’s serious-minded play beyond fiddle-faddle, but it just gets talkier and sillier...Under Myriam Cyr’s direction, one’s disbelief may be suspended for awhile...More notable than the direction is John R. Malinowski’s snappy lighting...For people with scant interest in credibility and a high tolerance for mumbo-jumbo, its romance-novel message of love surviving across millennia may be just the ticket." Full Review

“Myriam Cyr’s production boasts an air of clean professionalism to complement Murray’s dignified performance style but Schaffer’s play is an uninspired and mawkish exploration of mysticism that never thrills the way that witnessing a live seance should...The collective talents of the cast and crew would be better utilized in a more suspenseful and less eye-rollingly sentimental channeling of the spirits.” Full Review

“In Mat Schaffer’s earnest attempt to convince us of the philosophy behind reincarnation, he has written more of polemic than a drama. But just because words are spoken doesn’t make them believable. I’m sorry to say that the lighting effects are more dramatic than the writing...The characters accept the conclusion and connections with love and gratitude, but I wasn’t convinced...I was disappointed that the play didn’t succeed in dramatizing what I consider a complex and fascinating subject.” Full Review

“Although pacing was slow during the first scene, director Miriam Cyr’s staging moves the story along and makes nice use of the intimate space...Mr. Goes does a brilliant job of inhabiting numerous characters with distinct vocal and physical lives...Brian Murray is a marvel, his presence on the stage riveting...Here’s hoping there are more roles waiting in the wings for Mr. Murray. He is a national treasure!” Full Review

“Brian Murray is excellent in the role as are Anthony J. Goes as James and Vanessa Britting as Annie...This play is mostly engaging although very dialogue-heavy. The plot is slow in certain sections and some of the speech, although beautifully written, is more poetic and lyrical than the sentences that are spoken by the average person. That said, the excellence of the cast masks these minor issues...It is entirely understandable and watchable to mostly anyone.” Full Review

“The fact that the séance in ‘Simon Says’ is suspenseful and convincing is largely attributable to the skill of director Myriam Cyr, her accomplished cast, and the production crew...The virtuoso performance, though, is by the physically and vocally agile Goes. When James goes into a trance and accesses past lives, the audience is transfixed…‘Simon Says’ may not be profound, but the production provides for a diverting evening at the theater.” Full Review

"'Simon Says' gathers an impressive amount of talent into one concentrated space, but the script is simply not worthy of all that talent. It is a constantly impressive execution of utterly nonsensical material, which is so certain of its importance that it states it regularly, and unambiguously. This reviewer has never been more certain of any artistic endeavor’s unworthiness for public presentation." Full Review