Perched on a bar stool, quietly soused April (Pamela Donnelly) comes to, with haunted agitation ... the bartender (Steve Kehela) is her guardian or her jailer, hard to say which.The characters are nearly mad with the desire to make a change, to take control -- even if they don't know how to, or are afraid to, proceed. Under Chris Stone's direction, they're fun to watch. LA Times: Larry Miller 6/6/08
* * * * A forlorn-looking barfly April (Pamela Donnelly), scruffily dressed, had her head resting on the bar as she fitfully dozed and popped her bubble gum ... I marvel at how seriously these actors tackle the task of getting into character; their hard work really shows. Throughout the evening’s entertainment, the cast of five gave fantastic performances that were so well-pitched and detailed. Savage in Limbo has angst and heart to burn and is well worth seeing.Studio City Sun: Pauline Adamek 6/9/08
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Watching these 5 strong actors (Jolene Kim, Laura Bottrell, Pamela Donnelly, Steve Kehela, and Jamil Al-Chokhachi) bringing their characters to life in this story was like drinking a big glass of Long Island Iced Tea, extra pungent and bitter-sweet. These 5 potent and distinctive personalities mixed together in a performance that constantly gave the audience a tickle here, a poke there, a kick here, and a punch there all targeting the audience’s heart. LA Times Website: Urban Monk 6/7/08
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If you’re a talented playwright, one of life’s interesting challenges is to invent a handful of strong, interesting characters and turn them loose together in a single room to see what happens. If the room is a downscale bar in the Bronx of 1985 and the playwright is Oscar-, Tony-, and Pulitzer- prize-winner John Patrick Shanley, then what you might come up with is something very much like Savage in Limbo ...
Armed with Shanley’s creative ideas about these five remarkably desperate and almost single-minded characters – all age 32 – director Chris Stone and performers/producers Jolene Kim and Laura Bottrell have combined to offer an evening of drama that is a cut above what you might expect...
After the writing, what’s best about this production is the company’s high level of energy ... Pamela Donnelly turns in a stellar performance as the marginal April White. If Shanley had seen Ms. Donnelly’s work in this play, he might well have given her character {even} more to say and do ...
Each performer gets a chance to show his or her skills in at least one impressive solo moment, and there are plenty of opportunities for them to exhibit anger, sadness, desperation, and hope. Shanley has penned a wonderful vehicle for talented actors eager to showcase their strengths, and these actors don’t throw away a single line.
--Stage Happenings: Robert California 6/14/08
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