"With an awesome display of virtuosity, puppeteer extraordinaire James Godwin vividly enacts an enthralling sci-fi tale with shades of film noir...Godwin’s delightful script co-written with Tom Burnett is an affectionate and rich amalgam of old movie conventions with a cheeky spin...Precise staging exuberantly realizes the fanciful universe that is striven for...In the category of unique theatrical experience, 'The Flatiron Hex' is beyond category."
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"Performed with astonishing verve by Godwin...The plot is convoluted and purposely difficult to follow as one twist follows another and intrigues pile up...The complexity of this production is mind-boggling, if drolly rough at the edges...Godwin, who designed the intricate and varied puppets and the ever-changing set, takes the breath away with his energy and skillful command of each and every aspect of the production."
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"A lighthearted exploration of several potentially heavy topics...It seems confused as to what message or questions the audience is meant to take away...It touches on issues that affect us all without the discomfort of working in naturalism or a recognizable universe. Unfortunately, without employing that discomfort to parallel contemporary life, it may not arouse the conversations and question-raising among its viewers that this reviewer assumes is part of the intention."
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“Deliriously weird…It’s not every solo performance that makes you wonder if the usher has slipped some psilocybin into your preshow drink…The plot makes very little sense and probably made even less than usual during that preview performance, as Mr. Godwin couldn’t stop inserting jokes and gripes about that blown bulb into nearly every scene. But in full light or half-light or no light at all, 'The Flatiron Hex' is a dauntingly original and possibly hallucinogenic delight.”
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"Writing-wise 'The Flatiron Hex' drags for the first half of its 90-minute run time as the audience is still struggling to understand the world they are suddenly thrust into...However, at or around the halftime mark, the story goes utterly bananas. The play falls down a rabbit hole of insanity and keeps tumbling down until its climax; this crazed second half is what saves the show...For those with a taste for the outlandish and weird, 'The Flatiron Hex' is a humorous ride of the imagination."
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“‘The Flatiron Hex’ is both charming and supremely difficult to follow. Godwin dashes around, manipulating puppets, making voices, and chomping blood capsules (this is one of the gorier puppet shows you’ll see). The convoluted story, and Godwin’s occasional aggression toward spectators, can make the piece jarring to watch. But the odd antics and the ecological vision—more prescient than it seems—save the day.”
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"The futuristic puppet epic never downplays the End of Days, an annual event in NYORG, but provides it with an irresistible infusion of technology and hocus-pocus...The deadpan narration fits this crazy sci-fi perfectly…'The Flatiron Hex ' has a lot of the familiar, but is ultimately something utterly original and silly. "
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“'Flatiron Hex’ creates something of the atmosphere of tongue-in-cheek film noir…Godwin’s ability to manipulate his voice to effectively portray a large variety of roles reminded me of the talent of Mel Blanc…The play is perhaps a bit too long to sustain its premises…But there is no question that ‘The Flatiron Hex’ is very imaginative and delightfully complex, something of a psychedelic journey into the brave new world of the computer age.”
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