The Momentum
nytheatre.com review by Roger Nasser
August 16, 2010
CollaborationTown boasts that they will change your life this summer. The Momentum, their self-help-sploitation, will change your life when we fulfill our vibrational destinies. Well that's what the postcard says. And you know what—they are right!
I really didn't know what to expect when I entered the theatre. But the show that followed was amazing. The Momentum pokes fun at self-help seminars. We've all been there—going to a friend's "graduation" and finding ourselves stuck in an activity about seeing ourselves in five years; or reading books about visualizing our true happiness and just by doing that it will happen. The show features exactly this sort of thing: There are mantras that are repeated, vignettes about self-help seminars. There's even a song!
From the moment that Geoffrey Decas O'Donnell started his opening monologue 'til the last spoken mantra of the show I was sold! The cast—O'Donnell, Jordan Seavey, and Boo Killebrew—are all extremely talented performers. As an ensemble their energy just bounces off of each other. What is really great too is that they each have their own moments to shine as individual performers. There were even moments that I laughed so hard that I felt a little embarrassed. Even now as I'm writing this I am chuckling, remembering a part of the show where they throw what appears to be balls of paper at each other while each talking about their painful situations and reassuring each other with a mantra that these things don't exist. This is just one of the crazy funny moments of the show, and it is packed full of them. The Momentum has a softer and poignant side also. O'Donnell, Seavey, and especially Killebrew offer some really touching monologues. The trio gives solid, engaging performances. The Momentum was co-created by them with TJ Witham, and directed by Lee Sunday Evans.
The Momentum was really a joy to watch. It uses sparse sets (I think only three chairs) and relies on a talented group of performers. It is refreshing to see a show that relies solely on a good idea and not a gimmick. The Momentum really should not be missed. It's one of those shows that don't come along every day. The Momentum is the first CollaborationTown show that I have seen, but rest assured it will definitely not be the last. From beginning to end I thoroughly enjoyed myself and you will too!
