Lifeline Reviews
Stage Scene LA- Highly Recommended
"...A suicide hotline center provides the backdrop for Robert Axelrod’s Lifeline, a Road Theatre Company World Premiere dramedy as compelling as it is funny as it is ultimately quite moving thanks to a terrific script, a fabulous cast, a sensational production design, and Ken Sawyer in the director’s chair."
NoHoArtsDistrict- Highly Recommended
"...Lifeline is the second show of The Road's 2025/26 season and they have once again pushed their own boundaries and created something completely original both in content and execution."
Showmag- Highly Recommended
"...To round out the production, playwright Robert Axelrod and director Ken Sawyer have enlisted the aid of composer/musicians Jon Chase and Lou Roy, who provides musical interludes and accompaniments where needed. The rest of the production team has flawlessly assembled all the necessary pieces of the production puzzle: Notable are the lighting (Matthew Richter) and projections (Nicholas Santiago) which must work hand-in-hand to prevent lighting bleed, while properly illuminating eclectic costuming by Mary Jane Miller. All in all, it's a well-developed and executed production of a meaningful play taken from the experience of its playwright. It's as rewarding as it is engrossing."
Stage Raw- Recommended
"...Overall, the work is strong. The play covers a series of difficult topics, from police brutality to gender expression, with wit and levity. Axelrod doesn’t linger too long on these topics and doesn’t make it commandeer the work. Instead, he uses them to reveal more about each character, creating teachable moments. Despite this, one character, Jen, never develops fully enough to make her final moments with Patti as impactful as they might be. Although we see her grapple with their unexpected connection at the beginning, her own internal monologue isn’t revealed, and her tears feel unexpected."
Ticket Holders LA- Highly Recommended
"...The cast is uniformly excellent and the camaraderie between this intrepid band of players is something quite palpable—again, I suspect, thanks to the patient and beneficent leadership of Sawyer."
Larchmont Buzz- Highly Recommended
"...The moving Lifeline, a world premiere from The Road Theatre, is a peek behind the curtain at a training session for an LGBTQ-focused suicide hotline. With seating on the stage as well as in the front rows of the audience, the play, by Robert Axelrod, builds immersive authenticity through a range of beautiful and complicated characters, brought to life by a talented cast, and immersive direction by Ken Sawyer."
Broadway World- Highly Recommended
"...The material is provocative and heavy but Axelrod infuses enough humor into the characters that this dramedy, even when it’s emotional, pulls back before falling into despair, weaving dark and light so effortlessly, the tapestry he creates is engrossing. His writing is sharp and smart and in the end he gives us, if not hope, a sense that, for as bad as things can get, we can power through."