This was actually two short plays, Ashes to Ashes by Pinter and St. Nicholas by Conor McPherson. Both are really interesting works with high points and less than high points.

Ashes to Ashes showcased two very capable actors. Their styles were both strong but didn't seem to mesh. The set and stage direction really took away from the performances. They actors were forced to endlessly walk back and forth which proved to be distracting and unnecessarily broke the tension. A view of the twin towers is projected in the back window which makes settling on a location for the interaction even more difficult than the choice to have one American and one British accent. Lisa-Marie Newton at Rebecca has the more difficult part. She artfully restrained her performance in a part that could have easily gone over the top in less capable hands. Lol Levy was the quintessential Pinter male. You could tell from his performance that he relished the part.

St. Nicholas is a one man show. As with most works by McPherson it is very Irish. Fred Sharkey was very good but not Irish enough in spirit to be great but it is well worth seeing. There were two moments when the actor actively engaged the audience which detracted from the spell that Sharkey had cast.

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Excellent acting on both plays, and the second play was performed in its entirety by one person. Wow!

Unfortunately, both plays kind of plodded along, especially the second one. The plays were just good enough to hold my attention, but not good enough to hold me on the edge of my seat.

This is not the fault of the actors, who were superb. The stories themselves just weren't that great.

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Hmm, this contained two plays so it is hard to give it an "overall" rating. I could not really get into the first play. I got the point of it all yet it really did not thrill me. It seemed choppy with a stoic delivery. Luckily, it was short.

I enjoyed the second play more. I found the actor to be engaging and charming. I could visualize everything he was conveying. I liked the first half better than the second half of his performance. Also, the "transition" to the intermission was odd and some people were confused. I thought he had excellent eye contact that pulled you in. Going into the audience made it more interesting although I bet it made the people he sat next to uncomfortable.

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Thoroughly enjoyed this challenging production. The first piece, an hour-long Pinter play, was well acted. The story of a failing marriage (with its own secrets) was brooding and moody. The follow-up, a one-man was more energetic. The actor was charismatic, and the story not what I expected. I appreciated the reasonably priced drinks and courteous staff as well.

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