"For everyone who stores, keeps, won’t let go of, and makes excuses for items that no longer have any redeeming value (nostalgia or otherwise) – this one’s for you!... This immersive, more to the point, big question mark of a production, gives Sobelle a platform as a theater artist and teacher, a place to practice the art of sublime ridiculous in his conquest of seeing the absurd live and grow...Be prepared to witness the most unusual salad making technique ever seen...anywhere!"
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"Slow, tedious, and boring. At 100 minutes, it feels like an endless, pretentious piece of claptrap...It takes Sobelle so long to get his ideas across that one loses interest long before each eventual teeny, tiny example of his theme is presented...Most of the audience must sit on boxes for the entire length of the play, so one suspects that the standing ovation at the end is as much a result of a desire to get up off the boxes as soon as possible, as it is for the approval of the play."
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"We are caught in the finest of nets, placed exactly in the center of Sobelle’s magic spell. Delighted to be so...Sobelle leads us on what appears to be a random journey. Part clown, part jester, part trickster, he sails from box to box...The performance concludes with one of the b-e-s-t magic tricks I have ever seen...Unfortunately, it is also one of the l-o-n-g-e-s-t tricks I have ever seen...Get a ticket for this limited run and sit as high up as you can–literally and figuratively."
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"A valiant attempt of creating something unique. Sometimes the reminiscing and ‘play’ seem drawn out and repetitive...Sobelle imbues a humanity and sincerity that is lovely and engaging...It was poetic for about the first third, but then, as with most of the vignettes, the charm starts to wear off...There are moments of humor and wit along side other tidbits of emotional engagement, but spaces so dead and empty that it's hard to stay connected."
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"'The Object Lesson' is an important exercise and worth the visit...The impact of Geoff Sobelle’s immersive experience is sometimes diminished by the nature of the piece itself – something both Mr. Sobelle and director David Neumann should continue to take into consideration. No matter where audience members sit, there are vignettes of 'The Object Lesson' that simply cannot be observed."
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"There are moments, jerry-rigged with makeshift lighting and some surprise stagecraft, that are both funny and, quite improbably, beautiful. It feels like the kind of show designed to give bragging rights to aficionados of way-out theater such as myself. But it also inspires a contemplation of the meaning of objects in our lives, how an evocative old box of memorabilia–even if not your own–can provoke a swift stream of memories."
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“An extraordinary work of art…Through illusion, clowning, and storytelling, the installation piece becomes a jungle gym of wonderment…Sobelle’s innate skills for storytelling are on display here…Sobelle’s narratives are captivating…There are certain beats that drag on a bit too long…The staging is intricate and precise. Every moment is well calculated…’The Object Lesson’ is continuing to remind audiences the diversity when it comes to how theater can be made and told.”
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"Brilliant and strange...Love, and its loss, seems to be the linking theme...In the play’s final stretch, Sobelle distills the story of a life from an apparently bottomless box...This segment is the most cohesive, and your pleasure in the play will be dictated by how patient you are with the lack of a coherent story...Here, laid out for us, are his character’s memories, and the genius of 'The Object Lesson' is how skillfully he vividly brings them to life to tweak our own memories."
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