Opened to Rave Reviews on March 27th
Marty
Rosen || Courier – Journal…Chambers' 1980 script could be played for
easy laughs … but the Pandora Productions version is far too sly and eloquent
for that. Drury hasn't so much created a play as constructed a community
on stage. On a deftly designed beachfront (designed by John Witzke and Keith
Kimmel), the eight women of the ensemble move and speak with a casual unity
that makes the intricate flow of emotions and ideas seem utterly natural.
Scharff and Cecil make fine romantic foils, Kristi Papailler and Carol Tyree
Williams bring a droll, deadpan humor to the beach. Anne-Marie Alexander takes
a fine turn as a wealthy woman hopelessly under the sway of a dim,
self-centered beauty (Brytanie Holbrook). Lynch imbues Kitty with majestic
authority. Erin McGuire has just the right peppery tone as Kitty's
secretary. …so persuasive and finely paced ….
Craig Highley
|| TheatreLouisville.org…Pandora Productions, Louisville's only
GLBT theatre company, has another hit on their hands with their current
production of Jane Chambers' Last
Summer at Bluefish Cove. Everything about this production is
top-notch, from the script to the actors, from the set and lighting design to
Michael Drury's stylish direction. It's a show that will move you like few
others can. I am hard pressed to find a single flaw in this production!
All of the performances were strong, without a single weak link in its cast,
and Drury's direction keeps the story flowing. John Witzke's set and
Cristy Bohannon Wegman's lighting design are also very impressive,
realistically evoking a beachside cabin and stretch of beach. Overall it
is a strong and evocative production that forces you to think while you are
laughing and crying — and that is just what good theatre is supposed to do.
Sherry Deatrick || Leo Weekly… Director Michael
Drury assembled the perfect cast for this production. Despite the large
ensemble, each woman makes her part memorable, and no character seems
superfluous. By the end of the show, we’d all fallen in love with Jessica
Scharff’s Lil, the self-described “independent dyke” who hates to lose —
whether it be a bluefish or a poker game. Scharff plays her role so
definitively that I can’t imagine any other actor as Lil now. Raquel Cecil is
particularly impressive as Eva during her clumsy attempt to satisfy her
bi-curiosity and seduce Lil. Anne Marie Alexander (Sue) and Erin McGuire (Rita)
are also standouts, breathing realism into sometimes-unlikely dialogue. The
impressive set realistically depicts the ocean shoreline with a beach house on
the water’s edge. Sounds of the ocean add to the beach experience. In the wrong
hands, the whole thing could have easily come off like a Sapphic soap opera,
but Pandora Productions has scored one of its biggest creative successes yet
with this moving, unforgettable production. Don’t miss it!