“The concept of ‘Wild Abandon’ is clear: work through the tension of the past to better understand the present...The problem is that it's not until these final moments that the audience sees Lynn for who she really is...Slick tricks and musical virtuosity aren't enough for a show built around the baring of souls, though. You get glimpses of Lynn and and Leenya's inner selves but nothing more. Far from a state of wild abandon, you're left feeling, at most, mild interest."
Read more

“This is yet another play about breaking into, and surviving in, show business as combined with the story of a checkered daughter-mother relationship. Anyone’s reaction to it will rely on tolerance for hearing about someone else gab on about show-biz perils and how they have or haven’t been incorporated into an overall rewarding life...Under Rothe’s direction, Rideout does sufficiently well at the challenge. There are, though, one or two instances...where she risks dipping into the vulgar.”
Read more

"What our mothers owe us - and what we owe them - is at the heart of Leenya Rideout's one-woman autobiographical show, 'Wild Abandon.' In it, the prodigiously accomplished singer, songwriter, playwright, actor...comes to terms with both her mother's life and her own. Perhaps these twin goals converge a bit too neatly, especially given the harrowingly true complications Leenya introduces along the way, but there are so many hard-earned and poignant insights."
Read more

“A unique lens into a complex mother-daughter relationship...A rich tapestry of narrative, over a dozen songs...’Wild Abandon’ is at its best when it skirts and states the thorny issues that arose between Lynn and Leenya as they struggled to understand each other's separate lives and goals...'Wild Abandon' ultimately reveals that this mother-and-daughter duo, however different in temperament, share a passion for art and have lived, and continue to live, outside the lines."
Read more

"Leenya, a consummate actress, was born with talent far beyond the usual, excelling at everything – singing, playing piano and morphing into string instruments – violin, guitar, bass – all of which she showcases in this 90 minute presentation...She frequently takes on the role of her mother switching gears instantaneously, a tribute to her dramatic skills, as her complicated life emerges producing a release for a better, closer understanding between mother and daughter."
Read more

"Diverting, gently comic, but dramatically slender…For all its underlying seriousness, 'Wild Abandon' takes a lighthearted view of its heroine's familial and romantic travails. It generates occasional laughter, but not enough to make comedy its strong suit. The universality of its fact and fiction mixture of Leenya and Lynn's mother-daughter story will resonate with some, but there's little in the writing that's anywhere near as noteworthy as the multitasking talents of Leenya Rideout."
Read more