My Name Is Gideon: I’m Probably Going To Die, Eventually (2016) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (43)
See it if you like amazing true stories, great songs sang by amazing performers, and out-of-the-box staging ideas
Don't see it if A one-man show is not your idea of a satisfying theatre presentation.
See it if You want to be entertained. You want to see something totally different and wonderful. You like a one man show. You want to laugh.
Don't see it if You are not ready for something different. You don't want to be totally entertained. You don't want to laugh. You don't like a one man show. Read more
See it if You want hear hilarious travel and family stories while listening to various musical instruments. Wonderful staging and clever creations.
Don't see it if You don't like stand-up. Read more
See it if You like comedies, audience participation, singing, laugh out loud, creative, very funny shows that are new and different
Don't see it if You don't like hysterical, one man shows with stories, music, magic,a great set,and you hate to laugh and have fun
See it if you want to experience unique story telling & singing; if you love surprises; if laughter fills your soul with warmth.
Don't see it if you are looking for a standard venue and dislike even a small bit of audience interaction. Read more
See it if you'd enjoy a quirky multi-talented one man show. He goes from heart warming to hysterical to goofy and back again. Beautiful song & story.
Don't see it if you're going to be a drag darling. Gideon taps is joy and happiness reigns supreme. If you're not going to play along don't spoil the fun.
See it if 1 of the best I've seen-but not 4 everyone! Expansive & imaginative, this guy gives you an adult fairyale for a way to live. Intimate/funny~
Don't see it if If a storyteller w/an off the hook sense of humour isn't your thing. If you're tightly wound or judgemental-and dislike audience interaction
See it if You need an antidote to the current planetary heaviness and can let go and surrender to this charming raconteur/brilliant singer- musician.
Don't see it if You are too jaded to enjoy good hearted story-telling, physical comedy, great music and zany creativity for a quick and joyful two hours. GO
Critic Reviews (20)
"A mishmash of twangy songs and stories about his mother, his friends and his travels. Other odds and ends are tossed in: jokes, audience participation, a magic trick. A few run on a little long, but there’s charm in that shagginess, and in Mr. Irving’s folksy and welcoming manner. He’s the school nerd who you discover is pretty cool, once you tune in to his quirkiness...He’s so easygoing and free of cynicism that you may contemplate hosting him, too. I’ve considered inviting him to my place."
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"I still don't have a handle on the project, but it doesn't matter. Gideon's profound good nature immediately draws you in and holds your attention. He is an innocent, wise troubadour with a peaceful if wildly eccentric presence...To call 'My Name is Gideon' unconventional hardly captures the imaginative power of the work in (perpetual) progress...If this sounds crazy to you, you're not alone. But Gideon, who lives life on his own terms, makes you believe in him."
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"‘My Name is Gideon’ has a definite shaggy-dog charm…Given his ability to earn laughs from his deadpan delivery, Irving comes across like some kind of apex of hipster humor…He is sometimes funny, sometimes sad, and sometimes plain mystifying, but he has the power to hold an audience in his hand…It is the damnedest thing I've seen all season, a nutball special that, against the odds, proves to be surprisingly amusing right up to its time-tripping finale."
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"A quirky and enjoyable performance-art extravaganza…It could benefit from editing that would bring more focus to its entertaining features. There’s no great sense of profundity when it’s over but there has been a deep, communal bond between the audience and the performer…’My Name Is Gideon: I’m Probably Going To Die, Eventually’ is a terrific showcase for Irving’s considerable and idiosyncratic gifts. Its unruliness reflects his appealing freewheeling sensibility."
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"A playful rumination on journeys and who we were a long time ago. Happily based in a space of magical realism, it will tickle you and leave you with surprising poignancy…The musical performances of the show are entrancingly engaging with beautiful, haunting images and raw exposed nerves...Gideon is part whirling dervish, part prop comic, and the effect is dazzling…With playfulness and sensitivity, 'My Name is Gideon' will take you on the journey of a lifetime."
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"You are offered warm and loving sustenance in many forms. The tunes are all by Irving. He accompanies himself on instruments that are sometimes recognizable and often are not. Irving’s voice is perhaps the most important calling card of this show, with its huge range, with which he accompanies himself on each instrument with wondrous nuance and ululating resonance...Come with an open heart. Heart, head, stomach, and sense of humor are filled and thrilled by this production."
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"A charming and entertaining evening...What Gideon delivers best is his music...His melodies are folksy and blue-grassy, with elements of African rhythms. And his voice is resonant, with a surprising range that takes him to the stratosphere when he hits his falsetto...The problem here is that I’m not sure Gideon’s show translates to a theater venue...Interestingly enough, the show needs to be a little more personal...And although I had a pleasant evening, I walked out feeling a little empty."
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"There’s no denying Irving has talent radiating from him. He’s so gifted that his eagerness to share those gifts keeps him from knowing when to stop: at the 60-minute mark would have been fine...He sings several songs he’s written...Throughout he indulges surprise activities that often rely on audience participation...But Gideon is a talented man, and I’m going to be tolerant of a show that began cheerfully and fresh but slowly transformed into the somewhat irritating."
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