The Goat or, Who Is Sylvia? Reviews
Stage and Cinema- Recommended
"...Every Los Angeles theatergoer should be so lucky as to see a show this ecstatic. Because all this work is in service of literature that evaluates the sexual morality, the emotional fidelity, the personal integrity we all would like to claim; and it asks of these things what they say about our natures. You may guess much from the play's title, but there is no way to be prepared for what will happen to you in this theater, because it will happen to you alone. A really well-written tragedy always seems tailored to the individual. Our shock and purgation is after all a personal matter, nobody else's business. Just like our taste in intimate companions."
The Tolucan Times- Recommended
"...Winner of the 2002 Drama Desk and Tony Awards for Best Play, Edward Albee's The Goat or, Who Is Sylvia? is brought to life under the inspired direction of Ken Sawyer. Although in the tradition of Theater of the Absurd, this play is basically a morality play, examining whether even the most liberal-minded among us can truly accept other people's untraditional choices for whom they love and sexually desire."
ArtsBeatLA- Recommended
"...Under Ken Sawyer's excellent direction, the cast of four ride the rough seas of this emotionally taxing oceanic surge. Supporting players Matt Kirkwood and Spencer Morrissey give decent performances as the couple's best friend Ross and their son Billy, respectively. But it is Ann Noble and Paul Witten as the couple in crisis who command the stage with performances that almost defy description."
ArtsInLA- Recommended
"...With such a well-proven director to skillfully guide his brave performers through a difficult script, exhausting to watch and perform as Stevie turns their Pier 1–friendly apartment to rubble, The Goat is made more accessible by the rich performances of Witten and Noble, who are fearless in the difficult roles of a couple still in love but facing a devastation neither one believes he or she can possibly survive. Both veteran LA stage actors are monumentally simple, hilariously funny, sincerely heartbreaking, and obviously deeply trusting of Sawyer's steady but unobtrusive leadership."
Neon Tommy- Recommended
"...But in true tragic style, nothing is for certain. Cue Albee's genius. This one is a revelation. It will cause a mountain of internal debate, but it's worth it."
LifeInLA- Recommended
"...This production of the great master's play, is worthy and oftentimes wonderful with slick pacing, an intimate space that serves the material rather well, and a pair of wonderful performances."