KRISTIN HARDWICK REVIEWS ACROSS A CROWDED ROOM
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Written by F. J. Hartland
Directed by Valerie Adami-Juhlin
Presented by Break A Leg Productions & The Midtown International Theater Festival
CAST
She: Anna Pasquale*
He: Keith Herron*
F.J. Hartland’s ACROSS A CROWDED ROOM is the story of two adults approaching middle age and finding each other at a most uninvited time in each of their lives.
Their story begins at the birthday party of a person whom each of them barely knows. He (Keith Herron) is the obligatorily invited neighbor as is proper etiquette to avoid complaints from the neighborhood busybodies. She (Anna Pasquale) is the co-worker of the wife of the birthday honoree. Tasked with trying to be social with a forced happy face, each of them narrates their thoughts inviting their engaged audience into their world of choices to be made. And, like some of us may have also experienced in that type of situation, their thoughts span the full realm of emotions which entangle their daily lives. Fears, joys, desires, angst, regrets. And, many more.
And then, after “what seems like hours” of fretting, He decides to walk over to She to start a conversation.
Dialogue is intermingled with narration. A clever and most effective choice. He is a lover of Shakespearean language which he illustrates in a gloriously charming way. Not, the show-off type. And, She, being gifted with a beautiful voice, enjoys singing lines from famous show tunes. Like Him, She is not being a show-off which makes their interactions special and most enjoyable.
It is through their delightful interactions that we hear their stories.
ACROSS A CROWDED ROOM is one of thirty-six shows at this year’s Midtown International Theater Festival. The festival runs through July 26.
HAPPY FACE
RUN TIME: 30 minutes
CLOSED
*Members of Actors Equity Association
Drama Queens, a five-star arts journal focusing on female artists 
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