Kellie Overbey

No Good Things Dwell in the Flesh

September 13, 2023

Everyone loves a good immigrant story, from The Godfather on down. 'No Good Things Dwell in the Flesh" doesn't reach that high, but it succeeds in what it tries to do, which is to be an accurate portrayal of a specific experience. Agata (played by reliable veteran Kellie Overbey) is an aging Russian tailor with a shop in Queens who wants to retire. She's 64 years old and hasn't had a vacation in 12 years. She'd like to give the shop to her young assistant Janice (Carmen Zilles). Janice is interested but also boy crazy and generally doesn't have good judgment. [more]

Letters of Suresh

October 13, 2021

Although the characters never meet in person, they communicate mostly through letters that are spoken by the actors directly to the audience, and then halfway through the play, in texting which appears on the back screen as well as Facetime from across the world. Letters of Suresh is the perfect play for the pandemic as its characters are separated from each other across the stage as they declaim their letters, a reminder to all of us that without meeting in person we can communicate in writing. And the letters presented as monologues are never dry or dusty, but vibrant and revealing as if the other person is opposite you on the other side of a room or table. [more]

Mary Page Marlowe

July 17, 2018

After establishing himself as one of our finest playwrights with such works as "Killer Joe" and "August: Osage County," Tracy Letts seems to have somewhat lost his way with his more recent "Mary Page Marlowe." Now playing at the Second Stage Theater in New York, "Mary Page Marlowe" premiered at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater two years ago. With six different actresses representing the title character at many different times in her life, it essentially relates a single, long life span, in only 90 long minutes. [more]

Women Without Men

March 15, 2016

Thompson’s direction is taut, nuanced and compelling and she found the ensemble to not only make their characters entirely distinct but to make us feel these women have lived together for years. Emily Walton is charming as the idealistic Jean who comes to feel that there is no place for her in such a poisonous environment. As her nemesis Miss Connor, Kellie Overbey is sympathetic as a woman who feels that life has given her a poor hand but that her writing makes it all worthwhile. Mary Bacon is a tower of strength as the stalwart Miss Strong who after 18 years refuses to be pulled into the petty wrangling as her way of survival. [more]

Dada Woof Papa Hot

November 20, 2015

It was inevitable that legalized gay marriage would lead to plays about gay parenthood. "Dada Woof Papa Hot," Peter Parnell’s sweet-natured, but frustratingly narrow-focused, new play at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater explores the kind of child rearing issues formerly supposedly experienced only by straight couples, at least straight couples with large bank accounts. To bring the theme of gay marriage further into the mainstream, divorce also rears its ugly head. [more]

Summer Shorts – Festival of New American Short Plays 2015 – Series A

August 1, 2015

Summer Shorts – Festival of New American Short Plays has returned to 59E59 Theaters for its 9th annual outing offering six world premieres by famous playwrights, as well as some who ought to be more well-known, along with different casts and directors for each. The three plays in Series A are a fascinating grouping of new one acts in which women attempt to manipulate their companions for various ends. Neil LaBute, Vickie Ramirez and Matthew Lopez take very different stories and handle them in distinctive ways. All of these new plays can use a bit of pruning, but they are all works that will get under your skin and stay with you. [more]

Animals Out of Paper

February 13, 2015

With only a few days until Valentine’s Day we are surrounded by constant reminders of humanities obsession with being loved and understood. Quite timely, and unapologetically, YOLO! Productions has brought us a piece of theater concerning the affairs of the heart. You won’t be able to help but fall in love with the revival of Rajiv Joseph’s 'Animals Out of Paper" as directed by Merri Milwe. Trust us you’ll love the writer for the corny folding analogies and forgive him for the unsubtle appearance of an origami heart in this quirky tale of humanity’s capacity for love. [more]

BROADWAY’S 2006 Fall/Winter Season

January 27, 2007

The White Way barely had time to recover from last season’s exciting Tony race when Martin Short roused the sleeping giant with his manic ode to himself, Fame Becomes Me. [more]