New Rep Theatre Mosesian Center for the Arts 321 Arsenal Street Watertown, MA 02472 October 14 – November 5, 2017
Written by David Mamet Directed by Elaine Vaan Hogue Role: John
Any appearance by Obehi Janice, or Johnny Lee Davenport, automatically qualifies as worthy theatre: an appearance by these two fine actors on the same stage makes for must-see theater, not matter the play. . . . Davenport excels in the less showy role.
—Jack Craib, South Shore Critic (October 17, 2017)
The quality of the performances by Johnny Lee Davenport and Obehi Janice under the direction of Elaine Vaan Hogue can be best measured by the inevitable feelings of pathos and outrage during and after the show. This is theater that provokes high emotions and, with any luck, conversations. . . . Johnny Lee Davenport does a wonderful job interpreting Mamet’s stutter-step dialog, perfectly capturing the sound of someone whose mouth is moving just a bit faster than his brain.
—Peter Gross, Boston Theater Examiner (October 18, 2017)
Davenport and Janice give two intense, finely tuned performances. Davenport’s John starts out self-satisfied, affable, a man about to provide well for his family. His interest in Carol seems more avuncular than predatory. Davenport, a physically imposing man, manages to make himself small at the devastating end of this ninety minute piece. Janice is the opposite; her Carol takes on monumental proportions as the play progresses. She is visibly alert to Davenport’s statements; he plays blissfully oblivious to her intent.
—Michael Hoban, The Theater Mirror (October 21, 2017)
Davenport seems paternalistic and almost doddering, an absent-minded professor more oblivious than calculating as either a sexual predator or a smug intellectual. The actor may not have been in full possession of his lines the evening I saw him, and/or he and Janice hadn’t quite mastered “Mamet speak” — the overlapping snap, crackle, pop of the playwright’s stops and starts, a challenge for any actor. This had two effects — it was distracting and it made me feel sorry for the professor who was gradually annihilated as Carol sets on him like a rabid dog, eyes bulging, spitting with rage.
—Joyce Kulhawik, The ARTery (October 23, 2017)
Davenport and Janice, under the direction of Elaine vaan Hogue, make a point of sustaining a wild, spiraling energy, thus avoiding a sense of farce and keeping up a constantly-accelerating sense of momentum. . . . Carol and John don’t feel so much like characters, or even character types, but rather like aggregations of flaws — each is a perfect storm of human imperfections.
—Killian Melloy, EDGE Media Network (October 23, 2017)
Davenport and Janice truly shine when the drama ramps up alongside Carol’s accusations.
—Ethan Vo, The Tech (October 26, 2017)
Davenport and Janice give a good account of Mamet’s schematic of how that might occur, with Davenport beginning boldly and ending meekly while Janice begins meekly and ends boldly.
—BADman (Charles Munitz), Boston Arts Diary (October 27, 2017)