Los Angeles Times - Recommended
"...As the afternoon progresses, past histories are revealed, along with a few present-day surprises. You get the feeling that Alderson may have listened to one too many country music songs while writing "Salvage"; be prepared for a deluge of sentimentality by play's end. Still, a few judicious edits - and a dash more bitters in the syrup - could salvage this promising play from overstepping into bathos."
Broadway World - Recommended
"...Alderson's script gives complexity to each of the characters so that they aren't one note, but about two-thirds through a revelation is made that ups the stakes for each of them, and that's when it really goes into cliche country-music territory. It's surprising, but what has been a personal, grounded conversation thus far suddenly becomes melodramatic and doesn't really have the consequences it should considering its weight. While it doesn't negate what comes before, it dampens it, because it feels contrived and thusly doesn't ring true."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"...The minute I sat down at the Lounge theatre and saw the rundown bar on the stage equipped with a few tables, a jukebox and several guitars hanging on the walls along with a photograph of a famous country musician named Floyd Whitaker, I was transported to some small rural town which could exist anywhere in America. I also got a feeling that I was about to have a remarkable theater experience and that's exactly what happened."
LA Splash - Highly Recommended
"...A world premiere, SALVAGE blends music and drama into a satisfying whole. With book by Tim Alderson and music and lyrics by Mark Heard, Pat Terry, and Randy VanWarmer, SALVAGE examines the role of choices we all make in life - and their sometimes unexpected consequences. Director Damian D. Lewis and music director Stephan Terry have worked together to create a musical which lets lyrics and spoken words combine to add a little something extra to each medium."
Stage Scene LA - Highly Recommended
"...A chance visit to a run-down, out-of-the-way bar stirs up memories long-ago friendships, unfulfilled dreams, unforgotten grudges, and a woman named Jennifer in Tim Alderson's Salvage, a World Premiere "play with music" which requires buying into more than one coincidence but offers multiple rewards, not the least of which is getting to hear some of the most haunting, gorgeously sung country music in town."
On Stage Los Angeles - Recommended
"...Imperfect in a perfect way, I'd have moved the action of the entire show back up stage about eight feet. Sight lines. Fine performances deserve an audience. This is a world premiere worth sitting in on. "
Total Theater - Highly Recommended
"...The story first-time playwright Tim Alderson tells is a gritty one. Preacher and Johnson have hit rock-bottom and have given up on their dreams. And for all his enthusiasm and delight at finding himself on hallowed ground, Harley is ready to give up on his dreams, as well. The struggle to survive as a musician has just been a losing one; he'll never make enough to live on, he fears, especially now that he's going to become a father. His next stop is a pawn shop where he intends to hock his beloved guitar."
NoHoArtsDistrict - Highly Recommended
"...A truly wonderful, moving, funny, mesmerizing play with equally excellent and beautifully performed music. A play that in no way relies on the music to take us from moment to moment or scene to scene, the play does that very well itself. The music bares the souls of the characters, giving us insight far deeper than dialogue ever could."
Stage Raw - Highly Recommended
"...The performances are uniformly splendid. It is unusual to find such strong actors that are also equally accomplished musicians. Atkinson, who is vaguely reminiscent of Kris Kristofferson, maintains the specter of a ruined yet still attractive man throughout the evening. He projects a mesmerizing grittiness, inner rage and self-pity that eventually morphs into a hint of the inner pain and despair that torment his character."
Theatre Notes - Highly Recommended
"...Salvage is a solid hit at The Lounge Theatre. Do not miss it! Congratulations to Tim Alderson and his many associates on a brilliant opening. I look forward to Mr. Alderson's next play."
Haines His Way - Recommended
"...Damian D. Lewis has skillfully directed his quartet of actors who give understated and poignant performances in this 90-minute play with music. Atkinson and Fordinal do the bulk of the singing, accompanying themselves on guitar. Herzog lends her lovely voice on a couple of tunes. Only one of the 11 songs was written specifically for the show, the rest having mostly been previously un-performed. Alderson's script may be a bit too threadbare at times, but he really displays a strong talent for picking the right song for the right moment to not only move the plot along but to enhance the characters. Harley's "House of Broken Dreams", Preacher's "I Killed Jesus" and the finale "Rivers of Hope" all hit the spot musically and thematically. The songs by Mark Heard, Pat Terry, Randy Vanwarmer and Alderson make a great score for this short, bittersweet C&W song come to life."
Peoples World - Recommended
"...The songs in Salvage are so well made; I only regretted that the individual songwriters were not given proper credit in the program. Spiritually they trace a slow path from the nihilistic opening number "I'm So Tired of It All" to the final "Rivers of Hope," with its chorus "There'll be rivers of hope when the love rains down." It's like a short-form course of psychoanalysis or Truth and Reconciliation, all in an hour and a half."