Last Man Club

See it if Dust bowl farmers so desperate, they want to believe - and might have done - anything. Great sound effects heighten the deepening insanity.

Don't see it if You aren’t up for a downbeat mood piece with fine acting, where the people are symbolized by a wailing crushed bloody jackrabbit.

See it if Entertaining, very good sound and staging. A well acted and directed play.

Don't see it if The shiw drags for about 10 minutes and the woman were a mystery in the play. They didnt even need to cast them.

See it if A quick, sharp left jab of a play Intense, immersive drama of desperate survivors of a catastrophic Dust Bowl storm Mendacity & greed reign

Don't see it if Brief staccato scenes & flat Texas (?) accents can cause some plot confusion Characters not fleshed out but well acted esp McCormick's major

See it if you want to experience a stark tale from the Dust Bowl days of the American Southwest in the Depression years, dramatized with mythic power.

Don't see it if you are looking for a mainstream Western.

Also For years director-writer Randy Sharp & the Axis Company have been telling stark tales of rudimentary American communities in extremis. To an admirer like me, it’s felt like an excavation project. All the old saws about rugged American individuality are held up for inspection & found false: No individual survives in the wilds of America. It takes a village, & maybe a miracle too. (Sharp & company have looked at the harshness life of the early colonies, the wild west, & here, the Dust Bowl of the Depression.) An ill wind blows through all these landscapes. In situations this extreme, madness is never far off. Designs for these productions make full use of the low ceiling & uncommonly wide horizon of the Axis playing space. Acting style varies from dry (as in desolate) to full crazed. I have loved these explorations. The current revival of “LAST MAN CLUB” is not this series’ most powerful, but it blasts away most of what’s on view in the city right now like a tornado across the plain.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to be immersed into the 1930's Dust Bowl: people, sights, dress, sounds and smells. Production brings the era alive in a good story

Don't see it if you want a happy story or grand production: this set and actors recreate a haunting time. Difficulty understanding some conversations.

See it if Bewildered Depression family,reeling from drought fallout of Big Dust Storm & clinging to any hope,welcome swindlers &promise of RainMachine

Don't see it if Weathered faces and great absorbing set-up, but no follow-through. (60 min) "Magnets are pretty exciting."

Also "Sorry to be standing in the middle of your home, sir, without an explanation."... Read more Read less

See it if You’re into the DARK side and patient !

Don't see it if You want to enjoy your evening.

See it if You appreciate esoteric takes on dire circumstances.

Don't see it if You want a play that actually explains what happens.

See it if you are interested in the "Dustbowl" era and people barely surviving the ravaging environment & the ruthlessness it engenders.

Don't see it if you dislike the theme or can't tolerate repetitive conflict, suffering and a generally tedious script.

See it if You are interested in the Dust Bowl.

Don't see it if There aren't a lot of particular reasons not to see it, but it's not particularly worth seeing, either.

See it if you enjoy intensely dark drama about the struggle to retain human dignity, sanity, and life itself when nature destroys societal honor/trust

Don't see it if you prefer large cast, venue, stage or light dramatic themes, pretty costumes, comedies or musicals or cannot sit 60 min. in hard seats

Also Some of dialog was muffled and incomprehensible to me even in front row of very small theatre. Sound effects are so effective, I coughed from the dust.... Read more Read less

See it if you need a nap. While the actors did an admirable job, the show, itself, was less than stellar

Don't see it if you like to stay awake during shows

See it if you want to see the story of a highly dysfunctional (and dangerous) family funtioning in the Dust Bpwl

Don't see it if you need a historical drama to not be ahistorical

Also The author used facts the crossed 4 different decades to be facts on one particualar day in the 1930's. There were things that happened in the 19 teens, 20s' and 90s' that were presented as real time in the 30s. It is disturbing to me when you can't get the simplest of things correct.

The director made very confusing use of the space as interior dorrs became exterior doors throughout the show.

The basic premise is very good and the slight ambiguity will confuse many audience members. The idea idea of an entire family being complicit in one members horrific crimes is wonderful.... Read more Read less

See it if You ever wondered what it felt like to be trapped in the Dustbowl of the 1930's, this will take you there with genuine power of Nature punch

Don't see it if Something chillingly suggestive of our present climate crisis is the last thing you want to be reminded of, you might want to hide your eyes

See it if you want to see a play about con artists in desperate times.

Don't see it if you want to see a play that is well written and directed where you care about the characters.

See it if you like the off-beat; a Depression Era ensemble drama is your thing; a surreal family, whose characters seem unknowable, intrigues you

Don't see it if you're impatient with a slow story; you prefer lighter fare; you're seeking a more traditional play like "The Rainmaker" w/ some romance

Also A loopy 1930s "dust bowl" drama with neither the charm nor romantic energy of Richard Nash's "The Rainmaker" [1954] & without a likeable con artist character such as Starbuck.

The dust onstage is an amazing effect. Paul Carbonara's sound design + original music elevate the entire production -- as well as the thoughtful costumes.

But the PLOT HOLES are perilous.
EX: family patriarch Major, who has a half-wit brother (with a broken arm), a mentally feeble sister Wishful Hi, and a somewhat daft female relative, Saromy, he is supposed to protect against strangers, not only lets 2 peculiar men inside - - OK, they talk a good game - - but Major gets blind drunk and lets down his guard. Huh?

EX: when the con men vanish with a big chest filled with $96, not one family member notices / comments / gives chase. During the 1930s, the loss of $96 would be huge.

Very good acting overall.

Randy Sharp playwright / director, is also the A.D. of AXIS Company.... Read more Read less

See it if Like a drama that has a base in history

Don't see it if You like musicals and comedies

See it if Thought provoking with believable actors.

Don't see it if If you were expecting singing and dancing to feel good...

See it if Well conceived and executed tale of life during the dust bowl. Not your typical view, quite lyrical and evocative.

Don't see it if you aren't open to an unconventioanal view of a familiar theme. The writer/director had a concept, the actors bought in to it, and it shows.

See it if you want a taste of real hardships endured during the Depression Dustbowl, complete w broken families, con men, hunger, dust & thirst.

Don't see it if you mind ambiguity, strange characters or an imperfect plot.

Also This show has fine acting, a great set (despite low budget), excellent sound engineering, and a few holes in the plot. But taking into account a very dumb (as in, uneducated and naive) protagonist surrounded by madmen and women, the holes make perfect sense.

Based on reviews, I did not expect to like this as much as I did. A reminder to trust my own instincts. It sounded great, and it is.

An hour and 15 minutes well spent in this captivating drama.... Read more Read less

See it if want to support Axis Theatre. Enjoy very slow theatre.

Don't see it if just had a double espresso. You will be climbing the walls to get out.

Also I have always enjoyed Axis Theatre productions. They are generally dark in nature. Evening 1910 from a few seasons ago is still with me. Unfortunately Last Man Standing is not up to their usual standards. It's very darkly lit. It's directed incredibly slow and the characters are not written strongly enough to support this pace. It falls on the weight of itself. It's one of those pieces of theatre where I knew after ten minutes I wanted to leave. That left me 60 minutes of stifling yawns and squirming in my seat, hoping the end came quickly. It may have been my mood entering. I was tired but I often go to theatre tired. The root of the problem goes back to the writing. It's just not a great script, and if the author was not the Artistic Director, I doubt this would have been produced. Paul Carbonara is the resident music director and composer for AXIS. I am a big fan of his music. The first 90 seconds of this production are filled with his music. It's the best 90 seconds of the show.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy Beckett-esque thrillers, you like great design elements, you don’t mind creepy.

Don't see it if you want a musical, you want easy answers, you don’t like dust.

See it if A dark Tale of a families struggles during the Dust Bowl era. I enjoyed this play however not as much as many of the reviewers.

Don't see it if You prefer a more uplifting subject matter.

See it if you want to experience what Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans photographed for the WPA.

Don't see it if you cannot deal with profoundly depressing circumstances that are all too real.

Also This is a very powerful piece of theater. The acting, the staging, the set design are painfully evocative of what living in the Dust Bowl must have been like. This almost makes the movie version of The Grapes of Wrath seem like a comedy.... Read more Read less

See it if You like theatre that grips you from the moment the house lights dim performed by a masterful NYC Theatre Company.

Don't see it if You don't enjoy thought-provoking theatre.

Also Last Man Club creates a world of post-apocalyptic like atmosphere while diving deep into how we humans cope under duress. The character choices vary from, escaping into fantasy via Hollywood lore or choosing to be half comatose & sleep it off, one tries to steer and protect the family "ship" while the youngest stays strong and scrappy in their innocence while clinging onto hope and two crooks choose to take advantage of the vulnerable for their own gain.

What happens is a collective magnifying glass view of the human spirit in all it's quirk, grit, delusion & desperate need to survive. The ghost-like memory of an unseen brother who "got away" and ran to California appears via the family's recollection of memories both bittersweet and torn by the opposition of his motives. Above all else, this is the story of a family. Imperfect, sincere and honest to a fault. Randy Sharp & this incredible group of artist's achieve a true dig into the indomitable spirit of humanity. This. Is theatre.... Read more Read less