"Maddie Corman, giving a riveting performance, mostly as herself...'Accidentally Brave' does not offer answers...I wanted to see, rather than just hear as an anecdote, how Ms. Corman came to understand her husband as someone who isn’t evil but unwell, poisoned by pornography. And how she came to stand by him, as her wedding vows promised...The monologue form being what it is, Ms. Corman’s performance is more convincing with the negatives than with the positives."
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"Standing ovation for Maddie Corman...'Accidentally Brave' goes beyond play or performance; as directed by collaborator Kristin Hanggi, the 90-minute piece is an example of drama therapy...It's riveting, personal theater, but it is also truly harrowing...There are no easy answers, and there's no skirting the fact that this play will make a lot of people ethically, morally, and physically uncomfortable. But 'Accidentally Brave' is a must-see for all of those reasons."
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"Corman discusses her pain and frustration with admirable honesty...Remarkably, 'Accidentally Brave' never strays far from being a love story, or at least one that tests the boundaries of love. Despite moments of expressing pure hatred for her husband, she doesn't stop loving him. And there's extraordinary power and bravery within her compassion, making 'Accidentally Brave' a truly uplifting experience that allows you to believe that one day Maddie Corman will be okay."
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"Throughout the piece, Ms. Corman embodies the characters in her narrative, including her children, friends, therapists, and an Angel who gets her to completely own the situation...The production at the DR2 Theatre has just the right space to give an intimate feel. It is almost like Ms. Corman is in her living room having an inner monologue...After listening to her truth and trying to understand her dilemma, I came away with a sort of empathy for the situation."
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“Extraordinary solo show...Corman’s show is about how, day by day, she charts a way forward for herself...Corman tells her story with enormous tact and, whenever possible, humor, neither of which obscure the profound trauma that has been her lot. Surely, the director, Hanggi, has played a key role here, seeing to it that the star never strikes a sour or maudlin note in detailing the gradual process by which her shattered family puts itself back together."
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"As she repeats more than once, Corman wants to pass along lessons she’s learned, often handing out tips for the similarly troubled among her audience. But there’s no mistaking that she’s continuing to talk to herself, to buck herself up, to face her irreversibly skewed world. She may have been accidentally brave before, but there’s no missing that she’s deliberately brave now. Good on her."
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“Corman is personable, engaging and mildly comical but ‘Accidentally Brave’ comes across as a self-conscious vehicle to showcase her presumed tremendous talents. A recreation of her howling reaction to the revelations is painfully awkward, and there’s a lot of overdone character voices and mugging. For some, her grandiose histrionics will culminate in a heartfelt standing ovation. Others, may find her pampered socialite persona vapid and her aim of wanting to help others disingenuous.”
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"She can't tell her husband's story or her children's story, because it's not hers to tell. This is a smart move because it keeps the show from becoming salacious or feeling like she is capitalizing on a tragedy...She is able to find humor at the appropriate times, giving the audience opportunities for much needed laughs, without ever making light of her husband's horrific actions. Sometimes the writing does veer a little too much into self-help territory."
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