“Encore, Encore” received a great review the other day from the independent student newspaper of Northern Kentucky University – “The Northerner.”

You can read the full review here – but here are some highlights:

“Dorothy Parker’s quick wit, silver tongue, and harsh criticism made her one of the greatest voices of the early 20th century. Behind her rough exterior, however, lied a tragic, tormented soul that wanted nothing more but to leave behind her home life. This is “Encore, Encore.”

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Playwright Colin Speer Crowley does a wonderful job of guiding the audience through Parker’s life, touching on the many facets of early 20th century life. It was America’s first taste of war on a global scale, and the toll that combat took on the brave men in The Great War was not brushed aside in “Encore, Encore.”

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Tonally, “Encore, Encore” goes back and forth, but it never feels confused or rushed. Dorothy is always quick to make a clever retort or double entendre, even in the most dire of situations. There was always an ever-present feeling that beneath the humor, charm, and wit, there were dark feelings and emotions right behind it – as if the terrible situations Dorothy faced had to be masked by her critical persona.

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The overall plot has a tendency to hop around from time period to time period. At times, it confused me when a certain sequence would occur in the timeline of the entire play, but by the end all of the plot points were honed in and made perfect sense. Characters would cross paths in different periods, making emotional impacts later in the play hit even harder.

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“Encore, Encore” feels like a great start to NKU’s Y.E.S. Festival, offering both the hilarious and harrowing escapades of one Dorothy Parker.”

The Northern Kentucky Tribune has published a great article about the upcoming Y.E.S. Festival at Northern Kentucky University. The article was written by Rick Pender.

You can read a full text of the article !

Some sample snippets are below.

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“Something theatrical has happened at Northern Kentucky University every two years since 1981, and it’s unique to the Highland Heights campus. It’s the biennial Year End Series (Y.E.S.) Festival, back for its 17th iteration between April 16 and 26. Sandra Forman, the NKU theater professor, who has overseen at least 10 festivals, says she knows of no other university that regularly undertakes a festival on this scale.”

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“For the 2015 festival Forman and her colleagues read 431 plays. Each theater professor reads and evaluates scripts, a process that narrows the number to approximately 40. Then they’re passed around and rated; a high score evoking another high score moves that script up the list. By the fall prior to the festival, the number has been reduced to a dozen or so plays. That’s when the three directors who have been engaged to stage the shows are asked to read them and indicate their interest.”

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“For 2015, Forman says the three shows are “fun plays, not so much serious drama.” Terry Powell’s It’s a Grand Night for Murder, a spoof of murder mysteries, kicks off the festival on Thursday evening, April 16. On Friday night, April 17, David L. Williams’ The Divine Visitor, a Restoration comedy with a sci-fi overlay will debut. The third show, Colin Speers Crowley’s Encore, Encore, a play about legendary wit and caustic critic Dorothy Parker, premieres on Saturday evening, April. 18.”

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“Ed Cohen, a veteran community theater director who regularly stages shows for NKU, is handling Encore.

“I thought this was the best play that I read, so I was glad to get the assignment,” he says. “The students didn’t really know much about Dorothy Parker, but she is an interesting person they can relate to — the first important female theater critic. It’s a story about her failed marriage to a man who went off to World War I and came back a different person.”

“The show is highly theatrical,” Cohen adds, “a memory play that jumps around in time to portray this woman who is witty and smart, but not really a nice person at all.”

Victoria Hawley, a senior theater major from Cloverport in Western Kentucky, is playing Parker. “She’s chock full of quips,” Hawley says, “but I’m trying to discover more of her heart.” She said she’s excited by the opportunity to create a role in a new play. “Not many people my age get to do this. I’m a fan of new works — you have to start from scratch and work your way up.”

I was interviewed the other day by Ann Reily, Editor-in-Chief of Newburyport Magazine, for the staged reading of “Encore, Encore.” Ann “grew up in Amesbury and has more than 13 years of experience as an editor and reporter.” She interviewed the director of “Encore, Encore” (Anne Easter Smith) a few days before she interviewed me. Ann Reily wrote her article for the local Newburyport News.

“Encore, Encore” is the opening play of the New Works Festival at the Firehouse Center for the Arts. The cast includes Gina Colombo, Tim Gurczak, Sanford Farrier, Eliot Johnston, James Manclark, Julie McConchie, and Michael Johnson. Many thanks to Jim Vaiknoras for the rehearsal photo below.

You can check out the article here!

Janette Johnston, who plays Dorothy Parker in “Encore Encore,” managed to discover that there is actually a Dorothy Parker Society in New York City! The society was founded in 1999 by Parker enthusiast Kevin Fitzpatrick.

The Dorothy Parker Society is an interesting place that holds special events to educate people about Dorothy Parker. They even conduct tours of places in New York City where Dorothy lived or frequented.

The mission of the society is:

1. to promote the work of Dorothy Parker
2. to introduce new readers to the work of Dorothy Parker
3. to expand the fan base of Dorothy Parker
4. to have as much fun as possible
5. to take part in service projects in the spirit of Dorothy Parker

Mr. Firzpatrick has been so kind as to blog about the upcoming production of “Encore Encore” on his website – so please do check out his article!

“Early Life of Dorothy Parker Brought to Stage”