The Wedge Horse

"Nick Gandiello’s affecting if overwrought drama...Mr. Gandiello has a fine sense of rhythm...But the pleasure of individual lines isn’t quite enough to sustain this piece, which, under Aaron Rossini’s somewhat heavy-handed direction, tends to labor for significance. There’s hardly a sentence that isn’t emphasized, a gesture allowed to remain casual....The actors are most likely skilled, but they’re spurred so relentlessly toward such high intensity that it’s hard to tell." Full Review

"With considerable elegance and economy, Gandiello sets up a psychological tangle…He has also written the rare 9/11-themed drama that is neither mawkish nor pseudo-important. Under Aaron Rossini's remarkably acute and sensitive direction, all three cast members convincingly inhabit their roles…By the end of 'The Wedge Horse,' all three young people are much sadder and wiser." Full Review

"Serious and well-intentioned, but also soft hitting, as though it's not able to give proper voice to the many things it's obviously thinking and feeling. When a play wants to tie together as many disparate strings as this one does, that clarity of purpose is crucial, and its absence keenly noticed." Full Review

"'The Wedge Horse' examines adolescents in a contemporary zeitgeist with all the trauma of sudden loss, a splintering family and in-your-face world upheavals witnessed by a cell phone tweet or a laptop click...The exemplary actors delve deeply into their characterizations and come up with spirited tangible depictions...Every issue is not followed through to a conclusion but Aaron Rossini’s direction keeps each character well-defined and the action moves with staccato speed." Full Review