Stupid Kid Reviews
Los Angeles Times- Somewhat Recommended
"...Acclaimed in New York and Los Angeles for such plays as "The Other Place," "Annapurna" and "The Snow Geese," White returns with "Stupid Kid," being given its premiere in North Hollywood. The Road Theatre Company delivers a perceptive staging and brave performances, which makes it all the more disappointing that after a number of thrilling, hairpin turns White fumbles the story in its big moment and sends the audience out the door scratching its head."
Edge- Recommended
"...Sharon White's world premiere "Stupid Kid" is an amusing, if ultimately unsettling, dramedy about a lower-class family: mother Gigi (Taylor Gilbert), father Eddie (Joe Hart), a shady politician uncle, Michael (Rob Nagle), his much younger abused girlfriend, Hazel (Allison Blaize), and a nosy next-door neighbor, Frannie (Michelle Gillette), all of them noisy and uncaring of themselves and of each other."
Stage Scene LA- Highly Recommended
"...Folks are dumb where Chick Ford comes from, which is why you may be excused for assuming at first that Sharr White's Stupid Kid has nothing but poor white trash jokes in store for audiences at The Road On Magnolia. But think again. Chick and his kinfolk are about to reveal far more about the Eastern Colorado Fords than initially meets the eye."
Stage Raw- Somewhat Recommended
"...Director Cameron Watson's gets some terrific work from his ensemble, and he incorporates a set change later in the show with clever panache. Designer Jeff McLaughlin's interior fits the family's mood perfectly - all grays and sad variations on beige. There are a lot of good things in White's writing - in particular, one scene in Act 2 is powerfully painful in its dramatic impact. But his insistence that the poor characters speak like idiots a lot of the time - talking about seeing the "libarian" at the "libary" or constantly saying "irregardless" - seems heavy-handed, especially because they magically get smarter and more sensitive in Act 2. The play has problems with tone shifts, and the coda is regrettably feeble."
Ticket Holders LA- Highly Recommended
"...Now with Stupid Kid, White gets even more respect from me with this knockout world premiere which, under the masterful leadership of director Cameron Watson, is simply the best production so far opening in LA this season in a year overflowing with incredible new plays. There are a few holes in White's script which could easily be filled with a little dab of theatrical Spackle, but quite simply, it could never soar to these heights without Watson and his amazing cast of six brilliant actors at the top of their game."