Afterglow Reviews
Broadway World- Recommended
"...Gelman's superb direction gets well-modulated performances from his three actors. Bridgestock has an affability that makes Josh sympathetic even when he is barreling full-force from bad decision to bad decision. Rodriguez has an intensity that he lets simmer internally yet is still fully realized onstage. And Mohebbi walks a wavering tightrope of uncertainty as Darius, feeling with all the intensity of his 25 years, seeks someone to confirm that he is worthy, making that razor's edge harrowing."
Stage and Cinema- Somewhat Recommended
"...Performances are similarly limited. A lot of that can be blamed on the script, sure - but even so, I wanted more from the cast besides pretty looks. Even when they feud or shed tears, it's hard to be moved. The play is relatively non-specific, with generic backstories and character motivations."
LA Splash- Recommended
"...Billed as Los Angeles’ steamiest show, AFTERGLOW lives up to its hype. Penned by S. Asher Gelman, who also directed the play, AFTERGLOW was a smash hit off-Broadway and in London and is scheduled to be performed in Madrid, Puerto Rico, and Buenos Aires this season. The West Coast premiere of AFTERGLOW is currently at the Hudson Theatre in the heart of Los Angeles."
Stage Scene LA- Highly Recommended
"...Can an open marriage survive if one husband embarks on a sexual relationship with one of the couple's occasional bed guests? This is the provocative question posed by playwright S. Asher Gelman in Afterglow, a surefire seat-filler thanks to its extended softcore sex scenes early on but a West Coast Premiere whose real dramatic fire begins once the clothes have come back on."
Stage Raw- Somewhat Recommended
"...The relationships within this play are doomed, but although the script does not make it clear, the fault is decidedly with the characters, not with the fact that those relationships are gay or poly."
Haines His Way- Recommended
"...Gelman directs his own work and keeps the action flowing smoothly from scene to scene. The nudity might seem gratuitous at first, but given the context of gay relationships, the sex scenes are much more realistic and natural than the sex scenes in the classic Sex and the City where the main ladies kept their bra and panties on during their numerous sex scenes."