The LA Stage Alliance Ovation Voters, a body of theatre professionals has determined
through their votes cast on this production that it is ranked in the top 20% of all
registered productions in the ‘Overall Production’ category.
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"CRITIC'S CHOICE...
Thoroughly entertaining... (A) bright comedy... rapid-fire exchanges...
Director Neil Wilson gives each scene plenty of snap, aided by a game ensemble.
As Cass, (Elizabeth) Bond finds the sweet spot between giddiness and mania.
(Ian) Vogt’s Kip is perfectly hangdog, while David Ghilardi provides essential
counter-balance as a mellow captain giving atmospheric tours of the Falls.
Jen Ray makes the most of her many small roles, including a helicopter pilot
with a fear of heights and a hilarious trio of theme restaurant servers...
rarely have heartbreak, disappointment and theme restaurants been this funny."
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Contemporary American farce has a hero in playwright David Lindsay-Abaire,
who skews old-fashioned two-dimensional absurdity by surreptitiously adding
depth to initially shallow characters...
Elizabeth Bond's brilliant, comi-tragic performance embodies Cass...
Director Neil Wilson skillfully attends to each new piece of foolishness, sustaining
the intensity of performances even as the comedy cuts through.
Of special interest is Jen Ray, who plays several absurd caricatures with conviction...
Some of the most honest laughs this reviewer has experienced in years...
The script demands several distinct setting and designer Damon Fortier
provides them with skill and wit...
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"Fast and funny, off-the-wall, a laugh at least every 20 seconds...
...all of these characters delightfully intertwine... Wonder of the World is dropdead
hilarious from beginning to end... laughs, laughs and more laughs.
The cast is a dream under Wilson's taut direction.
Bond is adorable, a kind of pixie youngish Megan Mullalley with a rapid-fire delivery.
Vogt is equally funny especially in his tearful scenes watching movies in the
absence of his wife.
Van Luin is a scream as Lois, drunk or sober.
She's a scene grabber from the get-go.
The PIs will do anything for a buck -
Holden and Strolli make them a great comic duo.
Jen Ray is dynamite playing 6 roles. Her 3 waitresses - all distinctly different -
are standouts as well as the marriage counselor Janie in full clown getup,
who adores moderating The Newlywed Game as a form of group therapy.
This is an adult comedy, so leave the kiddies at home... thoroughly outrageous
every side-splitting second. You've gotta luv it!
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Pacifica Radio Network
"Elizabeth Bond amalgamates the perky glow of a young Mary Tyler Moore
with the razor sharp comic timing of Carol Burnett...
...Kimberly Van Luin plays a manic depressive suicidal alcoholic to comedic perfection.”
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Tweeted from:
"Guaranteed Laughs... Elizabeth Bond is excellent. Perfect Timing."
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I’ve found that most actors in small theatre productions usually push way too hard,
in an effort to stand-out to anyone of even small importance who may have wandered
into the audience; the sort-of “Look at me!” syndrome. But not here.
This cast was a true ensemble, who seemed very happy to be working together
for the over-all good of the piece. So much so, as a matter of fact,
that I can’t single-out anyone; there were no weak links.
Wonder… is a dark comedy, which I usually eschew, but the laughs just keep coming...
the journey was so fun! And that makes it already ahead of the pack
on the LA theatre scene.
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