John is a Father world premiere.
Listen to this articleThe stage is set when John [Sam Anderson] delivers his daily supply of fruit to his long time homeless buddy Edward [Mark Costello]. The banter between the two clearly seasoned citizens is richly laced with a sassy and salty humor befitting the former U. S. Marine Edward. But as the dialogue progresses a clear sense emerges that John is about to embark on a profound life changing mission that involves his Marine Corps son who was killed in Afghanistan, two people he has yet to meet; his daughter-in-law and his grandson. For above all “John is a Father.” Also what becomes apparent is the level of compassion between these two old salty dogs.
Humor is often the opiate that numbs fear, apprehension and pain so as John moves forward in his journey he briefly meets a gay couple, Kenneth [Carl J. Johnson] and Doug [ ] whose interactions with John at the airport bring yet another wildly comedic level to the show while concurrently further amping up the expectation of what lies ahead for John.
Finally John arrives at his destination and the anxiety mounts to a near explosive level. With great effort John pushes on driven at one point by his daughter-in-law Patricia [Hillary Schwartz].
John is a Father is a story of passion and ultimate redemption; it is one man’s journey to a full expression of his love and it is told in the only plausible manner and that is with abundant splashes of humor. Written by Julie Marie Myatt it presents a clearly brilliant and utterly captivating story that is inescapable. The performances by the entire cast are nothing less than superb, even the two young men [Elliot Decker and Jackson Dollinger] who alternatingly play John’s grandson Reggie all no doubt guided by the outstanding direction of Dan Bonnell.
John is a Father captured and unflinchingly held the audience for just shy 90 minutes of pure entertainment. One of its production elements was the excellent use of audio/visual effects to eloquently establish and connect the various scenes. Once again the ROAD Theatre Company presents theatrical excellence as it celebrates its Silver Anniversary.
John is a Father is playing now through July 3rd 2016 at The Road on Lankershim, 5108 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood, California 91601. Show times are Thursdays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 3 p.m. and Sundays at 7:00 p.m. For reservations and ticketing you may go online at: www.roadtheatre.org or call: 818-761-8838.
Ron Irwin was born in Chicago, Illinois a long time ago. He served in the Marine Corps in Vietnam, became a trial lawyer, TV and radio host, CEO of a public company and once held an Emmy. He never won an Emmy he just held one. Ron has written and published twelve books. His most important book to date is “Live, Die, Live Again” in which Ron tells of his early life and his unexpected and very temporary death in 2012. That experience dramatically refocused his life and within the pages of that book Ron reveals how he achieved a much healthier life, ridding himself of Diabetes, Cancer and Heart Failure. Now Ron enjoys writing about many things including health topics, travel [he has circled the globe several times], adventure, culinary experiences and the world of performing art. Ron’s motto is “Live better, live longer and live stronger because it feels great and annoys others.” Contact the author.