2017 Marathon of One-Act Plays: Series B

Inconsistent, Great acting, Ambitious, Engaging

June 25th, 2017

See it if you're excited by the possibility of a diamond in the rough. I particularly enjoyed "Linus & Murray" and "Disney & Fujikawa."

Don't see it if you expect high production value and high quality across the board. This is an ambitious, scrappy way to test out a bunch of new work.

Wish I Could See Them All
Syosset
50-64 | Male

547 reviews

Clever, Intense, Funny, Refreshing, Quirky

June 25th, 2017

See it if Five plays 80, 30, 90, 80, 95. 1-slice of life. 2-terrible. 3-cute dog and cat. 4-historical fiction. 5-psycho drama. Good variety

Don't see it if You don't like short one act plays.

PATRICIA 3
Manhattan
65+ | Female

392 reviews

Entertaining, Great acting, Intelligent, Relevant, Quirky

May 31st, 2017

See it if you are interested in seeing what the new playwrights are doing; you enjoy short glimpses into varied lives (including cat/dog friends).

Don't see it if you want highly polished productions with lots of scenery; you have no interest in supporting upcoming talent; you prefer musicals.

Also While I liked Series A somewhat better than B, there is still a lot of talent and imagination on stage here. EST is one of my favorite off-the-radar groups, consistently excellent and engaging. Looking forward to C.... Read more Read less

Rena Plays
New York City
50-64 | Female

239 reviews

Clever, Delightful, Entertaining, Funny, Great acting

June 3rd, 2017

See it if you are okay with rapid changes of mood and tone and tastes more than a full meal

Don't see it if You want a deeper plot or character development

Also consistently well-developed and acted; standout was "Linus and Murray," with hilarity that covers its excellent structure and uplifting message.... Read more Read less

Karen 6236
New York City
65+ | Female

229 reviews

Delightful, Great acting, Intelligent, Entertaining, Resonant

June 25th, 2017

See it if enjoy short, innovative theatre, tolerate range of writing quality with good to great acting. Linus/Murray &On the Outs great, Disney good.

Don't see it if you prefer multi-act shows with elaborate sets, large casts or musicals or cannot tolerate some preachy, long soliloquies or any banal ones.

Philip 6247
New York City

108 reviews

Delightful, Clever, Absorbing

June 19th, 2017

See it if you like one-act plays that are well-written, well-acted, and unpretentious.

Don't see it if you don't enjoy one-acts.

Also The five plays presented, unlike many longer plays, accomplished their necessarily modest but interesting goals. All except the first one consisted of exchanges between only two characters, for what that's worth.... Read more Read less

Critic Reviews (3)

Anita Gates |

June 13th, 2017

“The best of this bunch? Leah Nanako Winkler’s ‘Linus and Murray’…RJ Tolan directed these two perfectly cast actors with exquisite feeling and high-precision humor. The ending is devastating…Jeff Biehl and Tiffany Villarin are both excellent in ‘Disney & Fujikawa’…’Down Cleghorn’…The drama, direc...
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Massimo Iacoboni |

June 8th, 2017

"'Down Cleghorn:' The writing is tense, but it doesn’t quite find equivalent emotion in the performances...'Falling Away:' While the writing is taut, the emotional nuances of the text might have been brought forth more effectively by older, more mature actors...'Linus and Murray:' By the middle o...
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Tania Fisher |

June 6th, 2017

“A miraculous event in theater occurred when I attended the Ensemble Studio Theatre's presentation of their '36th Marathon of One-Act Plays Series B:' Each and every one of the five plays presented was outstanding…As if the entertainment value and compelling written word wasn’t enough to keep me ...
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