"Scrappy, peripatetic, now and then poignant, 'Nomad Motel' wants to hit you where you live. Sometimes it shows up at the wrong address...The director Ed Sylvanus Iskandar minimizes his showboating instincts, mostly giving the actors space to work, with varying success...The play that surrounds them can seem untidy, like a suitcase that will barely shut...But you’ll care for these characters, because Ms. Ching writes roles that actors enjoy playing."
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“Unfortunately, James and Fiona are on the outskirts of Carla Ching’s ‘Nomad Hotel...This work’s primary focus is on the very responsible offspring of these wild characters...Bonnie and Clyde they are not, yet Ching attempts to shape them into a pair of damaged heroes who find safety in each other’s arms...It seems that behind every door in this production, there is room for improvement.”
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“Ching’s script, which veers from dark comedy to heartfelt drama to borderline farce, contains some truly lovely moments...But ‘Nomad Motel’ has a few too many plot threads and after setting up an admirably diverse cast of characters, it settles for a conflict in which two young men of color vie for the affection of a cute white girl...Despite a fascinating premise and solid performances, ‘Nomad Motel’ hasn’t quite made it home.”
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“For roughly the first three minutes, ‘Nomad Motel’ shows some quiet promise...But then the words begin, and the characters immediately wander into a bog of mushy, meandering cliché...Short on actual dramatic urgency, the play feels like an early draft...Iskander adds padding to the already saggy text in the form of labored, would-be pensive transitions...He lets most of his actors skim the surface of their roles. Not that they have much to dive into.”
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"Depending on your perspective, Ching's play will come off as either genuinely inspirational or overly rosy...Director Ed Sylvanus Iskandar's production doesn't always help, lending a certain artificiality to the proceedings...For all its shortcomings, 'Nomad Motel' is generous and heartfelt enough to never quite lose the audience's goodwill...Ching's play does offer genuine insights into a kind of familial relationship that is rarely depicted onstage with such acuity."
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“Spread a bit thin through two acts, there's nevertheless plenty of good writing in 'Nomad Motel' and the cast is fine. But there's also a cliched metaphor involving Mason caring for a wounded bird until it's able to fly, and an over-the-top father/son sword fight climax. At this point in development, 'Nomad Motel' comes off as a study in parent/child relationships in need of a firm dramatic arc.”
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"Their predicaments tug at the heart, especially with Griggs and Larkin playing the sometime chums, eventual lovers with such sincerity...The problem weighing on 'Nomad Motel' has to do with the depiction of the trouble-inducing Fiona and James. Ching seems to think she only needs to sketch them in to indicate the onus they place on their unfortunate, striving offspring...As this is the 'Nomad Motel' world premiere, perhaps it’s fair to regard it as a work in progress."
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"There's some heart here, and some wisdom. But too often I found myself wishing the play would have the courage of its convictions, or at least of its characters...This is a compelling premise, and indeed there are flashes of insight into the lives of people who have resisted the easy cynicism of our age...Yet despite this, something is missing in this production which, for all its complexity, seems at pains to keep its audience at arm's length."
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