Victor

See it if A show worth seeing. Narrow is scope, very deep in plot. Story keeps your interest throughout the performance. Good story and good acting

Don't see it if Can be depressing not for everybody.

See it if While Oliver's reconteur's skills are peerless, one's enjoyment depends on giving oneself over to them but love story for Victor is genuine

Don't see it if Again, Oliver often diverges from Victor's privations to encompass a larger picture requiring a certain surrender/patience but well worth it

See it if you’d like to experience a beautifully staged, focused tale about a quirky, longtime downtown New Yorker, partly told, partly enacted.

Don't see it if you do not like solo shows about an odd performer’s life; you are expecting stand-up comedy.

Also I am not a natural fan of solo shows. But for more than a decade now I’ve been a devotee of Edgar Oliver’s onstage explorations of different aspects of his quirky life & sensibility. Randy Sharp often stages them, & here she outdoes herself in drawing from Oliver’s tale of his “crush” on a straight male neighbor who becomes homeless a full range of drama without ever sacrificing nuance. Sharp stages the action with the performer walking a downstage path & climbing up stacked boxes as befits this tale that is, as least in part, about the vagaries of downtown housing. Oliver is exquisite, otherworldly in his slow speech, his determination to nail what he wants to say precisely, his humanity, his refusal to plead his personal case, occasionally breaking character for shockingly wild moments. The ravishing 3-man musical accompaniment—acoustic guitar, cello & piano—would be a concert worth hearing alone. That it plays alongside this exquisite work makes the full evening so much richer.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy poetic stories with live music. The story is curious, profound, sad & amusing. The staging emphasizes the author's intentions.

Don't see it if pathos is not your thing. This is charming and simple but demands your emotional participation. Be sure to look at Victor's displayed notes!

See it if The invisible catches the eye of the observant, who is eager to relate his story with live music.Risk to tip to the maudlin, but it doesn't.

Don't see it if Solo performance. Odd lilting cadence can be a repetitive and sing-songy, but that could be the natural flow of poetic pairing with music

See it if a personal jewel box of a story very small in scope but magnified with intensity will interest you

Don't see it if oddly affected mannerisms, unusual accenting and drawn out storytelling will distract you from the content

Also A solo performance with live accompaniment tells a true story of a long-lasting friendship, with detailed reflections on homelessness, artistic endeavors, creativity, life in the east village, and homosexuality all addressed.
There is a fascinating accompanying exhibit of artifacts in the lobby.
This is a story of feelings-- as there is no dramatic arc, or conflict. Very little happens that you don't already know by reading the program.... Read more Read less

See it if you are a fan of Edgar Oliver's unique, Poe-like story-telling. he makes the most ordinary, even mundane things noteworthy & profound

Don't see it if you don't care for 'downtown-style" one man shows; cannot relate to the emotional depth in what seems to be a superficial relationship

Also I adore Edgar Oliver's subject matter: loneliness, shame, alcoholism (?) self-consciousness, mental illness & unfulfilled desires, in the guise of seemingly sordid & unsavory things. His beautiful voice & gestures are affected, yet mesmerizing. If Edgar Allan Poe, Lou Reed, Shakespeare, Laurence Olivier & John Houseman had an orgy, Edgar Oliver would be their love child.... Read more Read less

See it if Edgar Oliver is an extraordinary story teller. His accent, his poetry. all is very engaging Give him a try.

Don't see it if You want a play with sets and a cast of more than one person

See it if you're an Edgar Oliver fan; you're open-minded about gay life; you can appreciate a sensitive retelling of old friendships with no fanfare

Don't see it if homosexuality makes you nervous; you like dramas with lots of action + a big cast; an elegy of dissolute East Village lives makes you cringe

Also At 39, Edgar Oliver met Victor Greco, a 28-year-old cook, as neighbors on E 10th St. After vodka-loving Victor lost his job & fell behind on rent, he became homeless & lived on the street until his death at 50.

Oliver is an elegant, poignant elegiast of rooming-house life among dissolutes. The toilet's in the hall, the nearest phone is a booth on the corner, and neighbors pass time sitting on a stoop or in Tompkins Sq Park.

Delicately crafted vignettes include dancing to a fiddler by St. Marks on the Bowery; de-bugging a home by performing "a roach storm;" urinating in public; making bootleg alcohol from fruit salad; courting lovers by writing poems that are slipped under a door.

In 65 mins. we're regaled w/ modest rhapsodies by a masterful raconteur, with bardic gestures.

The set--black boxes to suggest tenements & stoops--seems overwhelming for a solo show. The music only works sometimes.

Oliver's stories remind me of NYC chronicles by Joseph Mitchell.... Read more Read less

See it if you know and like Edgar Oliver. You're intrigued by a very long relationship between two people who seem to want to be alone.

Don't see it if you don't like one-person shows or want something lighter.

Also This show was hard to review. Edgar has a very distinct style as he tells his story, which at times I found distracting. I'm still not sure if I'm I find the story touching or disturbing - I guess both. Still, I'm glad I saw it. It's a very honest telling of a true story, and I thank Edgar for sharing it with us.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy intensely personal storytelling from an incomparable performer. His open-hearted, honest portrayals of life must be experienced.

Don't see it if you dislike minimalist theater, one-person shows, minor references to homosexuality or if you want only light and fluffy entertainment.

Also Edgar Oliver is a NYC treasure. His shows are a mesmerizing amalgam of an uncommon upbringing, offbeat lifestyle, careful observation, unflinching introspection and generosity of spirit, told with his idiosyncratic voice and cadence.... Read more Read less

See it if You are an Edgar Oliver fan. See it and you will become an Edgar Oliver fan. See it if you want to know what NYC was like 30 years ago.

Don't see it if You aren't into a very unique individual with a distinct style of speaking and moving. If homosexual fantasies bother you.

Also Edgar Oliver is a theatrical treasure. There is going to be a time in the future when people will ask..."did you ever see an Edgar Oliver performance?" You will want to answer "yes". I have seen two other of his one man shows. This is his best. His most personal. His most revealing about who he is. I was in NYC the same time Edgar was living on E Tenth Street. I know what that area was like. Edgar Oliver speaks like no one else. I can't tell you why. He is like a Tennessee Williams character from some unknown play that escaped from the pages of a play. His other shows have been very interesting, but in Victor.. he bares his personal life in a way he has not before. It's moving, and beautiful Heartbreaking and so utterly human.

Go to see this show. The music by Paul Carbonara is wonderful. It adds to the Tennessee Williams quality.

It's directed with grace and fluidity by Randy Sharp.

It may not be for the casual theatre goer, but I found it a remarkable evening of theatre.... Read more Read less

See it if You enjoy one-person shows, live music accompaniment (which was beautiful!), and stories about New York City.

Don't see it if Other reviewers point to being ready to emotionally participate in the show, which is good advice. (I wasn't)

See it if I adore Edgar Oliver and this is his wonderful new piece which I hope to see again. Brilliant writing, acting and great music! Run to see it

Don't see it if If you like action packed musicals or fast moving pieces this is poetry in theater

See it if You like one man shows executed by an experienced storyteller. You can relate to themes of loss and living on the edge.

Don't see it if You do not want to see a theatrical event that explores a New York character that basically no longer exists - an artist on the fringes.

See it if see it if you have never seen him live before, Edgar Oliver is 1 of the most distinctive speaking voicesof our time

Don't see it if you are homophobic or close minded

See it if Edgar is a treasure, and there is no reason not to see it. This one man show is exquisitely staged and set to stunning live music. GO.

Don't see it if You don't have a pulse.

See it if This is a paean to the 60’s and 70’s in the East Village EdgarOliver is a gentle innocent who befriended a cis homeless man

Don't see it if You are homophobic

See it if Edgar storytelling comes from his soul. He is a master at this art. Have seen all of his shows in NY in the past years and they get better.

Don't see it if If you hate great writing and performing

See it if you love good storytelling about a city and people who are being forgotten. Edgar Oliver has a unique voice and perspective about life.

Don't see it if You don't appreciate the craft of storytelling. Edgar is excellent!

See it if you relish solo story-telling format; you enjoy live music accompaniment—it definitely enhances the very low-key, low-energy narrative.

Don't see it if you need brisk pace or if you dislike bare-bones staging and intimate venue. Possibly a love it or hate it experience—may find it precious.

See it if you relish eccentric artists of all stripes; to experience Oliver's seductive storytelling: his gothic instincts are tempered w real pathos

Don't see it if you are impatient with the elegiac or elliptical; this is a solo piece with live musical accompaniment that is not always well integrated

Also Oliver treads some new dramatic territory with this elegy to a lost friend/loved one/ghost. VICTOR is a bit different from his closely observed but also somewhat guarded tales of a bohemian-gothic childhood or his peregrinations in the East Village around the turn of the century. This tribute of sorts to a longtime relationship w an East Village neighbor who became homeless & died cuts closer to the heart. It investigates with at times painful psychological precision the attraction the two had for one another: impossibly romantic/obsessive on Oliver's side and situationally sexual & need-based on Victor's. A mutual curiosity & seduction by ideas of themselves that may or may not have had any basis in reality provide the tension that keeps the monologue searching forward.
Working for the first time w live musical accompaniment (by Paul Carbonara), director Sharp hasn't quite managed to give the skilled trio of musicians a true dramatic voice in the piece; they remain aural illustration.... Read more Read less

See it if You want to better understand the loneliness and tenderness of a man who has never been fully loved. Very engaging actor. Moving music too.

Don't see it if You expect a big production or have no sympathies for people who may be different from you.

See it if you like one man plays with great acting

Don't see it if you dont mind story lines about homeless people

See it if enjoy terrific story auto-biographical telling.

Don't see it if if you are opposed to one-person shows or monologues.