Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly
Backyard wrestling – the emulation of the aggressive antics of professional wrestlers by ordinary folk – serves as the point of departure for Mickey Birnbaum’s funny, frenzied, probing play, Backyard.
It begins with two teenagers, Chuck (Ian Bamberg) and Ray (Adan Rocha), meeting in Chuck’s backyard to work out a series of fake wrestling matches for which they are planning to charge admission. Fans of comic book heroes, the boys have adopted cartoon personas and a storyline to accompany their performance: The dominant Chuck is the “Destroyer” while the more accommodating Ray is the “King of Tears.” Read more…
Hoyt Hilsman – Huffington Post
Mickey Birnbaum, one of LA’s most gifted playwrights, returns with the stunningly brilliant and hilarious tale of teenage backyard wrestling in the wasteland of San Diego’s border suburbs. Birnbaum’s gift for dialogue and unsentimental character portrayal is on full display here, as he dissects with great humor and insight the lives of a family of lost souls. Read more…
Now running through July 13.