Praise for Amerissiah
Martin Denton, NYTHEATRE.COM
"The thing that I love about The Amoralists is that they are unafraid to tackle big issues in their work—in fact, they thrive on tackling issues, the more the better. The situations and characters in Amerissiah are appalling and over-the-top and funny and often startlingly convincing; they reflect back aspects of ourselves in a kind of funhouse mirror—the best kind of theatricality.
Ahonen sets up all the complex subplots and squabbles that define this preternaturally dysfunctional family in a first act that's bitterly funny in the manner of Sam Shepard or Tracy Letts (though laced throughout with Ahonen's trademark social consciousness, which distinguishes this young playwright from his antecedents).
Jennifer Fouche as Carrie Murphy gives a remarkable performance that ultimately anchors the play. James Kautz as her manic husband Terry is a lot of fun, as are Nancy Clarkson and Matthew Pilieci as the battling Holly and Bernie. Selene Beretta gives a well-considered turn as the badly damaged Loni, while Deirdre Brennan offers stark contrast as calm, collected Margi.
Nothing really should surprise us about the Amoralists' work. Their fearlessness is impressive, as is their range."
Eugene Paul, THEATRESCENE.NET
"Writer-director Derek Ahonen and his wowzer of a cast have done the impossible: nailed you to your seat even as you want to rise to the occasion. Amerissiah has the potential to be a big winner.
William Apps, James Kautz, Selene Beretta, Jennifer Fouche, Matthew Pilieci, George Walsh, Adam Fujita, Nancy Clarkson, Deirdre Brennan. They are all just smashing. The whole company ought to move to Broadway."
Arlene McKanic, GREENWICH VILLAGE GAZETTE
"Halfway through the first act of Derek Ahonen’s insane, brilliant play Amerissiah this reviewer thought, ‘There really are people who are like this.
Both the writing and performances are astounding.
Selene Beretta’s performance as Loni is so riveting that when she leaves the play for good you long for her return. It says much about the strength of the play that her absence doesn’t leave a deficit. James Kautz and Jennifer Fouche are also sensational as the squirrelly Terry and his loopy wife.
Clever lighting design by Jeremy Pape-check out what he does with the light at the end. The costumes are by Ricky Lang, and he outdoes himself.
Amerissiah is proof that some of the very best stuff in the theater is nowhere near Broadway."
Maura O’Brien, OFFOFFONLINE.COM
"The plays remarkable achievement is tackling the bitter emotions that make us uncomfortable with literally irreverent humor. It’s a shocking thing to shock a New Yorker and Ahonen, with his needle-sharp wit, left a stunned audience guffawing at the most inappropriate jokes. The transformation of vitriol into touching comedy is in itself miraculous.
Ahonen’s observations are fresh, his characters arrestingly eccentric. Ahonen’s cruel and cynical characters would hardly be so engaging if it were not for superb performances from the cast. As Holly, Nancy Clarkson is simultaneously touching and disgusting. William’s App’s Ricky is damaged like the familiar junkies of fiction, but his sensitivity highlights new depths in the archetype.
The show is an enjoyable antidote to the usual holiday fare about the joys and sorrows of homecomings. For this uniquely messed up American family, there is a uniquely American savior in Barry, the kind of Christ figure that can promise to get to heaven and make it impossible for those on Earth to cheat in sports."
Dianna Martin, THE FAB MARQUEE
"I wasn't sure what to expect when I was seated for The Amoralist's production of Amerissiah. A play about a degenerate family, a terminally ill cancer patient who thinks he is God, and over two hours of non-stop heightened dark comedy about the two combined? It exceeded my expectations - and demanded an open mind to allow it to absorb.
Writer/Director Derek Ahonen leaves no stone unturned and few issues untouched, and his writing is definitely meant to provoke the audience more than just entertain. The actors - and the script - make big choices, which are more interesting to see than a lot of theatre out there.
I thought I was at a Sam Sheppard play for a minute; an almost A Lie of the Mind - like memory came to me (I was there for the original many times) as the fantastic yet realistic characters, the bizarre and high-level madness and fever that is the dysfunctional family unit; and, again, the fact the audience is subjected to this for two and a half hours. However, not a person in the theatre was looking at their watch; they were watching the stage.
I must give kudos to the fantastic set and lighting designers, Alfred Schatz and Jeremy Page, respectively; they added elements to this play and allowed the actors to create an even more obscenely bizarre world set in an old Bronx apartment. Costume designer Ricky Lang really hit the nail on the head for every character - well done."
Lauren Yarger, REFLECTIONS IN THE LIGHT
"Yet another dysfunctional family has hit the boards of a New York theater, but with this play, amidst the yelling and backbiting, there’s hope that people can change and that an "I’m sorry" might actually mean something. Where Amerissiah differs from most of the family dysfunctional plots out there is that some healing takes place.
AJ Mell, BACKSTAGE
"Faith, addiction, family relationships, self-congratulatory liberalism, and Jewish self-hatred are only a sampling of the topics under Ahonen’s amused purview. The cast's demented energy and flair for caricature keep things moving at a lively clip, and James Kautz provides much second-act hilarity as a ludicrous white rapper whose wife (Jennifer Fouche) makes a spiritual pilgrimage to Barry's deathbed. The play's excesses can be forgiven, as they stem from a surplus of ideas rather than — as is more often the case — a lack of them."
