"'The Pen' is the stop-you-in-your-tracks reason to go to 'Inner Voices'...One of those rare shows that elicit wonder all the way through, not just at the material but also at the exquisite combination of assembled talent...'Just One Q:' Mr. Reid is appealing, but it’s a cliché-filled piece that doesn’t work as a solo...'The Booty Call:' Comes across as jejune and self-indulgent...It has to follow 'The Pen.' Against such incandescence, 'The Booty Call' pales even further."
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"‘The Pen’ is a wonder…It becomes genuinely poignant, even harrowing…Nancy Anderson digs into the role with the fervor of an actor who knows that she couldn’t ask for a better part to show off her multitude of talents…'The Booty Call,' is an enjoyable look at a songwriter…It’s unfortunate that in order to reach these two shows one must endure the first musical of the evening…The good news is that it’s forgettable. 'The Pen’s' voice is the one that carries, and it carries the night."
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"This trio of solo musicals brings together new and veteran talents to tackle conventional material, resulting in three distinctive, innovative short works; they also provide a showcase for three first-rate performers...Seeing a program like 'Inner Voices' is enjoyable on its own terms, and it's also fun to experience so many new and underused talents. I'd say all of them are going places; checking them out now will give you bragging rights later on. You'll be able to say you knew them when."
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"Any number of one-person shows create entire communities within the confines of a theater, but songs need to expand and deepen how we view people, not merely provide the same information with pretty underscoring. That's why 'The Pen' works so well. The medium elevates the message, and then Anderson elevates that. That's how musicals are supposed to work. But except for 'The Pen,' the other stories in this 'Inner Voices' are just too inner for their—or our—own good."
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“Paulette Haupt, producing artistic director of Premieres, should be very proud of herself. Her ‘Inner Voices’ program at the TBG Theatre managed to shock, move and entertain. The three short one-act musical monologues, each with a distinctive voice and each performed by an expert singer/actor were sweetly bizarre ('Just One Q’), shattering (‘The Pen’) and heartwarming (‘The Booty Call’).”
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"Three performers explore the quiet thoughts that exist when almost no one is watching in 'Inner Voices'...While 'Just One Q' is not a riveting story, it is charming invitation to a drama in an old folk’s home...Anderson is in fine form in 'The Pen,' an astonishing character drama...The clean spaces in the first two pieces are muddied by the intentionally messy 'The Booty Call.' In this laid-back, funkadelic groove track, the space that is filled and inhabited is tranquil and refreshing."
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"Each piece is about 30 minutes long–and that is roughly 10 minutes too long for each of them...'Just One Q:' Once the premise is established the story stays mushy and neutral. It is no match for Reid's exquisite voice...'The Pen:' This little jewel is smart and fast-paced and Anderson is exquisite–ethereal, actually...'The Booty Call:' Thurber is a pleasure to watch as he wanders the stage and seems to make things up as he goes along...A joyful noise all around. Even if they are too long."
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"Featuring three tour-de-force performers and some superb writers and musicians...The evening shows off a combination of great musical craftsmanship and wonderful originality....How fortunate New York audiences are to have another chance to experience the excellence, breadth and depth that musical theater can deliver with 'Inner Voices.' Don’t miss this intimate evening of musical storytelling!"
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