Reviewed by Matt Ritchey
Jeremy Kehoe’s Movin’ On Up is an existential comedy about death. The fine performances of Jeffrey Wylie, Gary Rubenstein, and Tessie Barresi tell the story of two people who come upon ‘The Watchman’ in a graveyard and from there, argue about everything from the realities of their current situation to belief and fear or hope of the beyond.
Kehoe has a true flair as a wordsmith, the show more of a treatise or dense book of poetry than a stage play. The arguments are certainly witty and well-penned, but as dialogue and dramatic action, they lose their bite. Conflict is avoided in favor of intellectual arguments – the characters so quick to trust one another and not question their surroundings that the stakes seem non-existent.
Perhaps that’s the point of Movin’ On Up, though: it’s not about the characters, it’s about the ideas. If so, it’s an evening chock full of deep, thoughtful concepts and arguments worth seeing to continue the conversation after the curtain closes.
Copyright © 2018 Gia On The Move. All rights reserved.
Written and/or recorded exclusively for Gia On The Move. No part of this Gia On The Move publication, writing, video, or audio may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. Copyright infringement is a crime. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Gia On The Move Permissions Coordinator”. For more information please review our reprints and permissions page.
