Central Record Hails WHEN WE GO UPON THE SEA as "Impressive" and "Imaginative"

Here's another great review that was posted today on The Central Record by Sally Friedman:

"In the line at the parking lot across from the Adrienne Theatre in Philadelphia, the debate still raged. Those of us in that line who had just come from the InterAct Theatre’s production of "When We Go Upon The Sea" were not yet finished with analyzing the play we’d seen, a play that left us at once confounded - and also impressed. ... Bush [is] wonderfully wrought by Conan McCarty ... But it’s the “why” ... that is at the heart of this intriguing semi-comedy ... Issues of war and peace, responsibility and indifference, and surely the key issue of what actually is a President’s responsibility, keep the moral issues flowing. Director Paul Meshejian manages to combine the sharpest Blessing wit ... in just the right doses, and then he can turn on a dime to weighty issues and imponderables. This play moves! ... the script is imaginative and perfectly rendered by this small, gifted cast. ... The play is already commissioned to play off-Broadway in June, surely a feather in the cap - and a first - for InterAct. For that reason alone - along with plenty of others - this provocative play is worth your time ..."

Read Sally Friedman's Full Central Record Review


Links to more information about WHEN WE GO UPON THE SEA:

WHEN WE GO UPON THE SEA Moves to Off-Broadway!

Read the Philadelphia Inquirer Review

Read Audience Reactions to the Philadelphia Inquirer's Review

Read J. Cooper Robb's Philadelphia Weekly Review

Read Alaina Mabaso's EdgePhiladelphia.com Review

Read Robert Zaller's BroadstreetReview.com Review

Purchase Tickets

Play Description, Artist Bios & Performance Calendar
(including a talk-back with playwright Lee Blessing)

An Interview with Playwright Lee Blessing

Actor Conan McCarty on Playing George W. Bush

InterAct's 20/20 New Play Commission Program

Philly Weekly Calls UPON THE SEA "Daring ... Thoroughly Compelling"!

Another outstanding review for WHEN WE GO UPON THE SEA from J. Cooper Robb in Philadelphia Weekly:

"Whether you love George W. Bush or hate him, you’ll be fascinated by the portrait of the ex-president in Lee Blessing’s daring political drama WHEN WE GO UPON THE SEA, which is receiving a thoroughly compelling world-premiere production from InterAct Theater Company. ... Bush is joined by Piet (an enigmatic Peter Schmitz) ... [and] Anna-Lisa (Kim Carson in a terrific performance) ... Under Paul Meshejian’s exacting direction, McCarty portrays Bush as a punk, but not necessarily a monster. He’s aggressive and frighteningly assured ... In this dark and disquieting play, Blessing isn’t concerned with simple Bush bashing. His purpose in SEA is to investigate the relationship between rulers and those they rule. ... At the end of Blessing’s drama, we are left with the uneasy feeling that perhaps America doesn’t want a man of the people in the Oval Office, but rather an omnipotent ruler with an insatiable thirst for power."

Read J. Cooper Robb's Full Philadelphia Weekly Review



Links to more information about WHEN WE GO UPON THE SEA:

WHEN WE GO UPON THE SEA Moves to Off-Broadway!

Read the Philadelphia Inquirer Review

Read Audience Reactions to the Philadelphia Inquirer's Review

Read Alaina Mabaso's Full EdgePhiladelphia.com Review

Read the BroadstreetReview.com Review

Purchase Tickets

Play Description, Artist Bios & Performance Calendar
(including a talk-back with playwright Lee Blessing)

An Interview with Playwright Lee Blessing

Actor Conan McCarty on Playing George W. Bush

InterAct's 20/20 New Play Commission Program

The Raves Keep Coming for WHEN WE GO UPON THE SEA

Check out a few excerpts from Alaina Mabaso's outstanding review of WHEN WE GO UPON THE SEA:

"... Blessing’s play is by no means a vehicle for easy shots on the former President. Blessing, Director Paul Meshejian, and a superb cast (Conan McCarty, Peter Schmitz and Kim Carson) have much more important things to unearth ... Blessing does deftly reveal a man with all the foibles, gaffes and indefatigable pride we might expect to see in an onstage W. Yes, we’re going to discuss the "terrorists" and an almost megalomaniacal certainty ... But Conan McCarty’s Bush is an intensely human, grounded performance, and the dialogue Blessing fashions through Bush’s mouth on supremacy, justice, annihilation, and even the indignity of a corporate jet over the pomp of Air Force One is less a meditation on a single character receding from world politics, and more an uncomfortably recognizable journey through universal human qualities destined to repeat in any leader of the future. ... McCarty is a native of Bush’s own home county in Texas, and his performance is not an impersonation, but an embodiment of a real piece of American life, and a reminder that understanding our leaders might just be best done with a hard look at ourselves. ... Peter Schmitz’s eminently sleek Piet lucidly echoes Bush’s blunt sentiments ... Kim Carson as enigmatic "relaxationist" Anna-Lisa brings sensual sparks as well as a poignant, intelligent depth. Blessing helps to make another incisive comment on the American public ... Having seen the play once, I would welcome the opportunity to listen to this timeless and well-characterized piece again. ..."

Read Alaina Mabaso's Full EdgePhiladelphia.com Review



Links to more information about WHEN WE GO UPON THE SEA:

WHEN WE GO UPON THE SEA Moves to Off-Broadway!

Read the Philadelphia Inquirer Review

Read Audience Reactions to the Philadelphia Inquirer's Review

Read the BroadstreetReview.com Review

Purchase Tickets

Play Description, Artist Bios & Performance Calendar
(including a talk-back with playwright Lee Blessing)

An Interview with Playwright Lee Blessing

Actor Conan McCarty on Playing George W. Bush

InterAct's 20/20 New Play Commission Program