“Kristen, the narrator and sole character of Skillman’s new play...executes magic tricks because she is the one who needs to believe. The miracle this lovely show pulls out is that by the end, she does — and so do we...’Open’ is not a postmodern deconstruction of David Copperfield, however, but a fragile love story that harbors tragedy under its seemingly goofy exterior...’Open’ reminds us that making an audience believe is a trick writers and actors can master.”
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"When the door to a theater closes, the rest of the world usually stays outside. But in Crystal Skillman’s sensitive solo show 'Open'...everything penetrates...The play feels long at 75 minutes, because the central metaphor wears out too soon. But the depth of Hill’s commitment keeps reawakening the pathos. The magic in 'Open' is all pretend, but the violence Skillman refers to is brutally real."
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"Skillman unfolds an achingly beautiful story, dropping bits and pieces of Kristen's thoughts and memories as she balances her tightrope of love, commitment, sacrifice, and transformation. Hill's performance as Kristen is funny, honest, compelling, and heartbreaking; one cannot take their eyes off her, and it's not because she is the sole occupant of the stage."
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“This play is music. It is that song you love. You know that song when every note of it is perfect, every instrument chosen is the correct choice, and the voice of the singer is the kind that lifts you to another realm. It is a poem, a love letter to us, crafted by an artist...Skillman mixes the world of magic, with the world of the living, all with precision and grace...Hill beguiles her actors to become dancers, magicians, clowns, mimes, musical instruments of storytelling.”
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