To The Bone Reviews

Stage and Cinema- Highly Recommended

"...A fantastic surprise from Open Fist Theatre Company awaits you at Atwater Theatre. A great story, funny stunning dialogue, and terrific performances arrive in a play - an actual play with long scenes and zero decontructionism - comes in a gift called To the Bone, a drama cloaked in a comedy which opened this week and runs through November 5. Written and directed by Catherine Butterfield, the Boston-set family story has enough twists and turns to keep you both guessing and caring."

LA Splash- Recommended

"...TO THE BONE is a fascinating study of how people change - or perhaps stay the same - over the years. It is also a perceptive look at adoption and the ripples that it may create in everyone's lives. The playwright (who, by the way, denied any biographical traces in the story) directs with compassion coupled with humor. The talented cast does an excellent job of taking what could be a tragic drama and focusing on the humor inherent in the unexpected curves that life throws at us when we least expect them. Kudos to Tisha Terrasini Banker's for a conflicted, confused, and ambivalent portrayal."

Stage Scene LA- Highly Recommended

"...Pay no mind to its frustratingly cryptic and even off-putting title. Catherine Butterfield’s alternately sidesplitting/heartstrings-tugging To The Bone is not only one of the year’s best new plays, like David Lindsay-Abaire’s similarly set Good People, the Open Fist Theatre Company World Premiere will keep you guessing—and keep surprising you—from its hilarious start to its unexpected, laughter-through-tears finish."

On Stage Los Angeles- Recommended

"...Butterfield's plot is slightly predictable with nice twists and turns. The piece moves a pace. The laughs, especially, are worth a go."

NoHoArtsDistrict- Highly Recommended

"...“To The Bone” is a beautiful play. The characters are fascinating and compelling and all of them are terrible at keeping it together as they pretend to be normal, playing along until the moment is right to get real."

Stage Raw- Somewhat Recommended

"...Notwithstanding these soap opera elements, To the Bone has the makings of an entertaining evening. The characters are colorful and the dialogue sound. The humor is born of human foible. The arc of the story is Kelly’s journey towards transformation into a wiser, kinder woman. Sometimes that’s the kind of story you want to see told."

Larchmont Buzz- Highly Recommended

"...A good play offers all of its characters room to grow and change, and To the Bone maximizes every opportunity. The talented actors completely inhabit their complex and evolving characters, with Banker owning the show. Geneva complains that her adoptive mother thinks she’s the center of the universe, but Kelly provides the sun around which this group revolves. Banker goes all in: high energy and low class, with deep underpinnings of pain and emotional scar tissue."

Glamgical- Recommended

"...Peppered with sharp humor and emotional scenes, Catherine Butterfield's script keeps the story moving forward with a surprising ending. The thespians' performances keep the story engaging and entertaining. Tisha Terrasini Banker does a phenomenal job as the foul-mouthed mother who will fight till the end and do whatever it takes to save her son, despite the curveballs thrown at her. Yes, baseball has something to do with this story."