THE PSYCHIC LIFE OF SAVAGES (LATC): 38% – BITTER
LemonMeter | Aug 08, 2012 | Comments 2 |
LTC and Savage Players present “The Psychic Lives of Savages” at Los Angeles Theatre Center. Credit. Inda Reid.
BITTERSWEET
Most of the actors on stage at the Los Angeles Theatre Center downtown gamely make a run at sustaining interest in the development of their characters and the shifting relations between them, but the self-indulgent crises and dilemmas of Freed’s poets aren’t compelling enough to justify two-plus hours of it all.
Lyle Zimskind – LAist
BITTERSWEET
Directed by Angie Scott and Nate Edelman, the four lead performers work hard, but end up defeated not only by the dense language but by their characters’ abrasive narcissism and the depressive repetition within the plot.
Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly
BITTER
Everyone is so intent on showing us just how artistically, theatrically, kookily crazy they are, they sidestep the process of making these characters into human beings. The dialogue crackles, not just with wit and intelligence, but also with feeling. It’s the production that falters, coming across as more of a school play than anything else.
Samuel Bernstein – Stage and Cinema
BITTERSWEET
But this talented crew cannot quite expunge the collegiate precocity that suffuses Freed’s script, which never really melds the tickling sardonic mischief to the inevitable ironic tragedies, and nearly wears out its caustic welcome by Act 3. Still, an impressive achievement, albeit most likely rewarding to adherents, academics and/or adventurous alcoholics.
David C. Nichols – LA Times
THE PSYCHIC LIFE OF SAVAGES
Latino Theater Company and Savage Players
At Los Angeles Theatre Center
514 S. Spring St., Los Angeles
Mon.-Thurs., 8 p.m.; through Aug. 16., 2012
Tickets: $20; (866) 811-4111
Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
Filed Under: Featured • LemonMeter • Low Rated
About the Author: We don’t “review” shows here at the Lemon, rather we "review" reviews by gathering them from a variety of local review sites around the internet, judging them to be positive or negative, then forming an aggregate score that we call a LEMONMETER RATING, showing how well that show has been reviewed in total. For more detail on how the LemonMeter works visit here.
Sorry, but David C. Nichols (LA TIMES) review of the “production and the cast” was not bittersweet – it was definitely “sweet.” He might of found fault with the play itself and I can see why you might consider the review ‘bittersweet’ as a whole – but the point is he enjoyed our production.
Well it was not “definitely” sweet, or else I would have given it a Sweet. As you mentioned, the overall review was on the fence, he appreciated the effort, but ultimately it was a near miss. I think that’s pretty evident in the quote that I pulled.
While I’m always willing to take a second look, on this one, I did, and it will remain as is.
But what I do appreciate is those, like yourself, that take the moment to read the whole review and get the more nuanced view.