The Barrow Group

Triptych

November 13, 2024

As long as you come to John Yearley’s "Triptych" with the understanding that grief is a deeply personal and complex emotion and that just because two people are married doesn’t mean they will experience a traumatic event exactly the same way, then you will understand the plight of Joe and Blanche. It goes without saying, although it’s always said, nothing is sadder than the loss of a child; the parent is “supposed to go first” and the children are expected to grow older and have children of their own but life and unexpected tragedies have a way of getting in the way. [more]

17 Minutes

January 23, 2020

The play succeeds in large part because it begins in the aftermath of a school shooting. There are a few bits of dialogue describing the terror of the incident itself, but there is no onstage representation of the violence, nor any long, involved retelling of it. None of that is really needed, because the chaotic, nightmarish imagery of such episodes has become engrained in our imaginations over the years. Nor does the play aim to offer a solution to the mass-shooting scourge. Instead, it tells a simple—yet decidedly powerful—human story about a figure who is, paradoxically, both on the periphery of the incident and at its heart. [more]

Perp

April 2, 2019

Alexandro and Ben-Victor as the soul-stained detectives are excellently cast, playing off each other without a single misstep. The gender-blind casting of Alexandro as Jack is especially funny when she gets to deliver the hilarious line “I got a hard on a mile long” without blinking. Grant is brilliant as the soulful felon Myron, locked away for an unknown crime but brimming with goodness. Molina is spot-on as the creepy, anguished killer looking for love and redemption. [more]

Awake

January 24, 2019

Manning’s direction and script are both expertly crafted. The play’s moral questions are cleverly woven into each of its fully-dimensioned characters’ words, and their tales are often presented without bias, leaving the audience to draw its own conclusions. The actors find their full potential in this play, each one as compelling as the next, filling their portrayals with humor, earnestness and passion; they listen to each other in every moment and are a joy to watch. [more]

The Tricky Part

December 4, 2018

Overbearing nuns, eccentric priests and confusing religious tenets are detailed with stand-up comedy gusto by performer Martin Moran in recounting his Colorado Catholic upbringing during his absorbing self-written confessional solo play,"The Tricky Part." Following that familiar list of targets and lively audience interaction, the main thread of the show is disclosed. [more]

A Walk in the Woods

March 30, 2018

The two talented, delightfully understated actors have taken on these roles with energy and sincerity. Manning makes Honeyman both simple and complex at the same time while Van Treuren mines Botvinnik’s uncanny ability to charm and frighten at the same time. You root for them from beginning to end and hope against hope for them to actually produce a treaty. [more]

The Pavilion

June 21, 2015

Though "The Pavilion" is a play which addresses time as if it were a simultaneous occasion—past, present, and future all occurring at once—the story takes place in the present, at The Class of 1985’s 20 year reunion. Of particular interest, the story focuses on Peter (Dusty Brown) and Kari (Julie Voshell), high school sweethearts who had a storied romance which withered and deteriorated long before the events of the play. Funny at times and touching at others, Brown and Voshell have created a great on-stage relationship which is buoyed by excellent chemistry, and the different dynamics of the two actors gives way to some moments which are very sweet and others which are heartbreaking. [more]