Terry Morgan – Stage Raw
One of the main pleasures of history-based plays is reexamining subjects from a new perspective. The life of Mozart was forever altered in people’s perceptions after Amadeus opened. The term “witch hunt” to describe something other than the Salem trials likely was influenced by The Crucible. John Ross Bowie’s sharply funny new play, Brushstroke, presents some little-known Cold War history that should surprise most viewers. This terrific production at the Odyssey Theatre, a world premiere comedy thriller, is a witty and entertaining look at how art and government meet. Read more…
Travis Michael Holder – TicketHoldersLA
Playwright John Ross Bowie teases us by describing his inspiration as a story “so crazy it has to be a little bit true.” He admits there was actually such a shadowy and suspiciously funded organization but admits his labyrinthine tale of espionage meets abstract expressionism in the quirky age of Pollack and deKooning is a fictional telling of what might have been. Read more…