DON JUAN DISPENSO: 57% Bittersweet – UPDATED

Courtesy of Missing Piece Theatre

BITTER
If the smoky-eyed Enani rarely stokes the Don’s legendary libido with sufficient fire, blame Tanner; he transposes his characters to modern times (a period nicely suggested in designer Daniel Mahler’s ’20s gowns) without updating his antique, baroque archetypes with psychological nuances contemporary to his theme. The result is that the Don’s rascally seductive charms, along with the play’s, simply go missing in action.
Bill Raden – LA Weekly

BITTER
But the main reason that this world premiere comes off heavy handed is Mr. Enani’s interpretation of the title character. His Don Juan is a downer. He turns on no sex appeal, has no sense of play. He kvetches his way through life, making his seduction skills unbelievable. He needed a director to guide him to the humor in the piece. Instead, he got the writer, who could have benefited from the third creative eye of an outside director.
Robert Axelrod – Reviewplays

SWEET
Don Juan Dispenso proves Tony Tanner to be a savvy writer, but perhaps he should have left the direction to someone with a keener eye to comedic flair. RECOMMENDED for its script and for most of the beguiling ensemble. It’s worth a peek.
Don Grigware – BroadwayWorld

SWEET
He is charming, good looking and preys on women young and old. Given the familiar subject matter, the material could have easily fallen victim to cliche, but the spectacular performances by the ensemble cast, led by Ahmad Enani in the title role, give way to one of the most interesting plays you’ll see this season.
James Famera – Glendale New Press

BITTER
Actor-writer-director Tony Tanner has an offbeat, intriguing take on the Don Juan story that lurches among the humorous, tragic, and occasionally bewildering. The tone of the piece presents a daunting challenge, and while Tanner’s cast is generally solid, the actors don’t fine-tune their performances to pull it off.
Hoyt Hilsman – Backstage

SWEET
While a little lacking in presentation, this production is nonetheless worth seeing.
Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA

SWEET
The events in prison leave Juan a broken man. I didn’t believe the transformation by ‘Mr.. Enani though he handles the rest of his material quite well. I wished he had gone further, and with more style. Tanner’s script is good but wasn’t fully realized in this production. Nevertheless the writing and many of the performances save the day. I must admit I enjoyed myself. Don Juan Dispenso plays at The Missing Piece Theatre until April 4th.
Robert Machray – Stagehappenings

Presented by Bare Bones Theatre at the Missing Piece Theatre, 2811 Magnolia Blvd., Burbank. Feb. 28–April 4. Fri.–Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m. (800) 838-3006.