Steven Leigh Morris – LA Weekly
Actor John Barrymore, star of theater and screen for a quarter of a century until his death in 1942, was thrown out of prep school after having been seen entering a brothel. This detail isn’t in William Luce‘s 1996 two-person show based on the actor’s reminiscences, Barrymore, though the play does have the title character mention a scene in which young John fetched his own father home from a brothel. Read more…
Melinda Schupmann – Arts In LA
Known as The Great Profile, John Barrymore was considered one of the finest actors of his time. With a handsome visage and notable theatrics, he was praised by all and emulated later by a succession of actors including Laurence Olivier and Alec Guinness.
In playwright William Luce’s tribute to Barrymore’s legend, actor Gordon Goodman takes on the daunting task of capturing the essence of this man whose brilliance was legendary and whose alcoholism and profligate ways destroyed his career.
Read more…
Sharon Perlmutter – Talkin’ Broadway
Barrymore initially seems like an odd choice for Good People Theater Company. At first glance, it looks like a complete departure from the company’s initial venture, a fully staged version of A Man of No Importance. Why follow up a big musical production with a (nearly) one-man show? And yet, as the evening progresses, certain similarities emerge. Read more…
Now playing through December 1.