Sara Fellini

Anonymous

February 5, 2026

Spit & Vigor Theatre Company has an interesting approach to stagecraft at least with its return engagement of Nick Thomas’ Anonymous, now at their new home at the Tiny Baby Black Box Theatre. The play which takes place at a weekly meeting of an addiction support group has the audience sit in a circle and then embeds the actors in the circle without acknowledging the rest of us. This gives the play an immediacy it might not have had otherwise. The audience feels like they are part of the monthly group even though we are not seen by the actors. On the other hand, Sara Fellini’s direction is so broad that the actors all seem like they are overacting considering that the audience is only feet away. The play would be much more convincing if they all took it down a few notches. Some of the actors seem to be hamming it up – unless it is simply that we are sitting next to them or across from them that their performances seem to be too big for the tiny venue. [more]

Mike & Mindy’s Wild Weekend Jam

June 28, 2025

"Mike and Mindy’s Wild Weekend Jam," the musical returning Off Broadway in a bigger version than before, has a sophisticated score and unsophisticated book. The title is a bit of a misnomer as there is nothing “wild” about it and the “jam” part leads to unfilled expectations. However, the cast makes the most of the impressive musical portions of the show from Bucky Heard and Timothy D. Lee of the Righteous Brothers, salvaging Mark Corallo and Eileen Nelson’s book which resembles those Afterschool Specials of the past. [more]

A Man Among Ye

July 3, 2024

"A Man Among Ye" is episodic, with flashbacks and confusing dialogue. It is filled with sword fights, sea shanties, revenge plots, mermaids, witches, and mythical creatures. As a highly stylized dark comedy, it misses more than it hits. Despite the claims that it is based on a true story, it is mostly fiction and fantasy and lacks consistent explication. It needs a more straightforward, consistent storyline, and, in several cases, there is superficial character definition and development. The cast does a respectable job of trying to make sense of a show that doesn't know what it wants to be. [more]

Ectoplasm

January 18, 2022

"Ectoplasm" counts among its themes and topics: poetry, women’s rights, prostitution, women’s suffrage, love, death, the paranormal, the supernatural, fraudulent mediums – and the love that dare not speak its name, except here it is openly discussed, circa 1912. Each and every character has an agenda which is too many plot devices, while the actual plot never quite resolves itself. While the play has been given an elegant physical production, the script does not entirely hang together or feel satisfying. [more]

The Wake of Dorcas Kelly

July 17, 2021

Early in the play, songs are sung by various members of the cast including the anachronistic “The House of the Rising Sun,” (sung twice) set in New Orleans in the twentieth century. The cast members use various accents even though all are supposed to be Irish. Characters come and go for no motivated reason and too many events happen more than once. The acting though vigorous is uneven and inconsistent, but this is mainly due to several underwritten roles which give the performers little to do and not enough backstory. The production’s pacing is deficient as parts of the play come fast and furious while others are slow, talky and languid. [more]