Little Lamb by Michael Whistler
“There’s a world of … joy out there!” At least, that’s what Denny (Ames Adams) believes in InterAct Theatre Company’s Little Lamb by Michael Whistler and directed by Seth Rozin. Denny isn’t religious and he isn’t always realistic, but he’s got more love in him than you could imagine. And he’s got his partner, Jose (Frank X) to ground him. They’re the perfect team. All they want is to be parents – to raise a child and give it the best home they possibly can. Cathy (Kaci M. Fannin), their adoption agent, finds them a child, but things don’t work smoothly when the birth mother comes back into the picture, demanding her child.
Ames Adamson as Denny and Frank X as Jose. Photo by Seth Rozin.
A truly heartfelt performance, Frank X was stunning in his portrayal of Jose. He really understood the character and was able to bring him to life in a way that no one else may have been able to. Additionally, Kaci M. Fannin’s performance as Cathy was an exceptional one, giving the audience a look at a torn woman, who has had to and continues to make the hard choices in life.
The performance overall, however, was not as flawless as it could have been. There were more than a few occasions where lines were stumbled over and it really threw off the flow of the performance. The set featured the most stereotypical gay man décor, which really worked with what was going on and the character’s personalities – everyone was very stereotypical.
Little Lamb challenges a lot of issues faced in the world today – religion, race, sexuality. And although the performance was spectacular, the content was a little overwhelming at some points. It’s almost as if, had it been scaled back to facing two of those three issues, it would have been even better. However, as far as new plays go, it really seemed to flow well and definitely has a future ahead of it.
This is definitely a show worth seeing. It’s got its funny moments, but in the end, it’ll have the audience in tears.
InterAct Theatre Company presents Little Lamb by Michael Whistler and directed by Seth Rozin, May 29th – June 28th at the Mainstage at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom Street. 215-568-8079, www.interacttheatre.org.
