Dogs of Rwanda NYC Reviews and Tickets

"Hodge's tendency to telegraph each emotional beat betrays the contrivance of the script. His attempts to summon white-hot anger mostly leave us cold as we see the wheels turning in his head...Unfortunately, all of the African characters discussed in 'Dogs of Rwanda' come across as thinly drawn sketches...His frequent digressions into his B-plot romance with Mary Jane are even more tiresome...It all leaves a false aftertaste that is very hard to wash down."
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"A solo show...Filled with terrors...Lewis' text is filled with fine details...Under the direction of Hill and Napolitano...Hodge holds us firmly in his grip...He is well-suited to the role of an innocent who has wandered into the heart of darkness...The production is striking and yet not too slick...There are gaps in the text that one would like to see filled...Maintains a viselike power -- it is a trip to hell and back, and it poses lingering questions about guilt and reconciliation."
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"David's chronicle is gripping, violent, and ultimately quite moving, and Hodge gives a riveting performance...There is something instinctively off putting about a white male character confronting the psychological torment of the Rwandan genocide...In the end, though, 'Dogs of Rwanda' shows that cultural scars are not limited by racial or national origins. We are all implicated in historical traumas by the narratives we hear and the stories we receive."
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"Hodge commandingly plays the American narrator...Though well-written...comes across as a contrived episode that restates that war is hell. Lewis' approach may be fresh but the subject matter isn't, and so even with the compelling performances and excellent presentation, the 70-minute show is an artistic draw...Succeeds on many crucial levels but one's enjoyment of it depends on if one is the in mood for a bleak theatrical travelogue without an imperative purpose."
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"Exquisite writing by Sean Christopher Lewis...David launches into a chilling account of the horrific events he witnessed...His account is somewhat suspect, the real mystery within the mystery of the play. As I cannot divulge the crux of this thriller, you’ll have to witness this remarkable journey for yourselves...It’s a remarkable evening all around, evocative and harrowing. Hill and Napolitano helmed this amazing evening with panache."
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"The narrative could be greatly improved with a better depiction of the geographical aspects of the story…'Dogs of Rwanda''s subject matter is intrinsically interesting but there's little of historical or political importance in it that…well-informed audiences don't already know. Its greatest value lies in the opportunity it provides for an exciting solo performance...Hodge…offers a strong, personable characterization of someone genuinely affected after having gone through such indelible trauma."
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"The one-man play offers an intense and unnerving look at man’s inhumanity to man, the lingering personal effects of unimaginable trauma, and ideas on how best to cope in the aftermath by embracing truth and forgiveness...A gripping direct-address monologue that employs us as witnesses to his story...'Dogs of Rwanda' isn’t easy to watch, but it’s impossible to turn away from the truth of what happened and the riveting production at Urban Stages."
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"Hodge as David is exceptional, and if not for his fantastically, raw performance 'Dogs of Rwanda' would not be an easy watch...Lewis gives Hodge a plentiful, vivid script that helps you understand why David, though a charming, friendly man, still feels like a wounded 16 year old...While 'Dogs of Rwanda' is a one-man show, Hodge is so vivacious and interpersonal that you feel God's Blessing is there telling him not to paint him as a Tutsi victim but an unwilling killer."
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"'Dogs of Rwanda', a monodrama by Sean Christopher Lewis at Urban Stages, is a narrated tale wherein a man tells of his personal experience with the Rwandan genocide while he was a teenaged missionary. He’s published a book about this horrific experience and has been contacted by a survivor who has criticized him for not telling the whole story. Dan Hodge is mighty fine as Our Narrator, but there is no escaping the fact that this is a story, not a play, albeit a most compelling one."
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"This play is a fascinating and exhausting hourlong monologue, performed with great power and subtlety by Dan Hodge. The gruesome details and the action-filled chronicle are riveting — an enormous challenge in a solo show...Hodge, master of the sickly smile, never simplifies or illustrates; this is acting that refuses to be seen as acting...Lewis’ 'Dogs of Rwanda' is filled with small motivic links that knit the play together, far more complex effects than I could catch in one viewing."
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"A gripping solo play that deals with loss, grief, and truth...Under Maura Krause’s precise direction, Hodge holds the audience in the palm of his hand throughout. What seems like innocuous banter can segue effortlessly into a gut punch...The play and the performance are both deeply unsettling, precisely because Hodge fosters such a precise level of intimacy...This is a refreshingly honest way to handle a story that centers around a perceived transgression...'Dogs of Rwanda' demands to be seen."
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"Through the character of David, played convincingly by Dan Hodge in this 70-minute one-man show, we see ourselves...Hodge's performance is extraordinarily genuine and personal...'Dogs of Rwanda' becomes an immersive and intense experience, a well-crafted play that goes beyond cataloging atrocities to investigate how and why they're committed and how we might somehow, someday, recover from them."
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