Wednesday, May 1, 2019

reviews - LOVE AND MONEY - Theatre Artists Studio


Patti Suarez and Jamal Peters
Photo by Mark Gluckman
highlights from local critics reviews - (click link at bottom of each review to read complete review)

Click here for more information on this production that runs through May 19.

"...While the play has its flaws, Theatre Artists Studio's Arizona premiere production is led by Patti Suarez who delivers a performance full of grace and humor as a woman making amends for her past....The plot focuses on the very wealthy Cornelia Cunningham, who has made plans to give almost all of her money to charity as a way to atone and compensate for her family's past. ...her lawyer...makes her aware of a letter his firm received from a young man who claims to be the son of Cornelia's late daughter. ...is he a fake or is he really her grandson? ...Gurney's play has hues of John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation, ...though this play isn't as successful in effectively mixing comedy with social relevance. ...Gurney introduces ideas that are relevant in the world we live in ..then he changes gears and the piece turns into a mildly amusing comedy with little substance. ...Director Carol MacLeod and her cast do their best in navigating the shifting tones and styles in the play, from drama to comedy and musical. As Cornelia, Patti Suarez is feisty, funny, and full of warmth. She beautifully embodies this strong woman ...Suarez is simply lovely in the part....While there are some good jokes and laugh out moments, Love and Money, while charming and funny, is only mildly amusing with little dramatic intrigue. Still, any chance to see the always impressive Suarez and the charming Rollings on stage is worth it... " -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway (click here to read the complete review)

"..a light-hearted and humorous poke at the affectations of wealth. It may not stand as one of (Gurney's) greatest works, certainly not when compared to THE COCKTAIL PARTY, SYLVIA, or LOVE LETTERS. It is nevertheless a play rich in finely-crafted badinage and finely defined characters, all the more enjoyable when presented with as well-rounded a cast as now appears in Theatre Artists Studio's staging of the show, deftly directed by Carol MacLeod.....Ms. Suarez excels in capturing Cornelia's wit and wisdom, feistiness and cynicism, fatalism and joie de vivre. It is a role whose complexities she plays with aplomb, balance, and a perfect touch of class...." Herbert Paine, Broadway World (click here to read the complete review)

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