| | REVIEWS EXCEPTIONAL! STING OF TRUTH! VIVID! FLAMBOYANT!
Actors itching to turn their personal lives into solo theater should come to "Liberty City" with a notepad. April Yvette Thompson, working with director and co-writer Jessica Blank, conjures her Miami childhood in explicit detail, but she leaps beyond the narcissism of her particular emotions to evoke an entire African-American community in the 1970s. Instead of anecdotes, she delivers scorching insight on how history both frees and chains us at the same time. The show has the sting of truth because Thompson and Blank ("The Exonerated") tangle everything with contradictions...In an exceptional perf, Thompson embodies characters using nothing but accents and postures, never even changing her neutral clothes. Her choices are so strong and specific -- and her transitions so quick -- that the stage often seems full of people, and the clarity makes it easy to care about everyone she portrays...Blank helps Thompson shape her perf so that her feelings are vivid without being overwrought. That restraint deepens the play's sizable appeal.
Mark Blankenship, Variety
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PRECISE! STRAIGHTFORWARD! ELOQUENT!
A definitive example of the solo show, Liberty City ably displays the ample talents of performer April Yvette Thompson. She evokes her characters straightforwardly, delineating them with precise changes in accent, tone, and bearing. Thompson focuses closely on her family, her stories touching eloquently on uncomfortable aspects of race, politics, community building, and the legacies of the '60s movements.
Alexis Soloski, Village Voice
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COMPELLING! MAGNETIC!
Thompson embodies each person completely and seamlessly transitions from one to another, thanks to sensitive direction by co-author Jessica Blank. Never changing her casual clothes, she uses accents and mannerisms to portray her parents, her aunt Valerie, her adoptive grandmother Carolyn and herself. The audience gets to know and care about each individual through Thompson's strong, specific characterizations...themes of survival and self-knowledge provide an apt ending to this exceptionally stirring and vivid tribute to a family and a time.
Julie Reed, The Associated Press
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ABSORBING! HUMOUROUS! WISELY TOLD! ELOQUENT!
Wearing the same jeans, maroon tunic and sandals, Thompson eloquently changes voices, accents, physicality and attitudes to portray these individuals believably, even as she annotates them from her own perspective. Actually, Thompson's story turns out to be less about herself and more concerned with depicting her elders...The narrative rolls along smoothly thanks to Thompson's exceptionally fluent gifts as a performer and the unobtrusive environs provided by Blank and her designers. Video, subtle sound effects and lighting design augment a cozy depiction of the house where April lived with her family. For all of the studied minimalism of the staging, it's a highly sophisticated production.
Michael Sommers, The Star Ledger
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POWERFUL! EXQUISITE!
The action of the play culminates in the riots....an incredibly powerful sequence, exquisitely performed by Thompson. ..While the riots are an important part of the story that Thompson tells, it's ultimately only a small portion of her narrative. She and Blank have wisely concentrated on showcasing the humanity of the piece's central characters over a long stretch of time, rather than making it about a singular crisis. This allows for an important -- and incredibly moving -- coda at the end of the play that encapsulates the work's themes of history, struggle, pride, and self-determination.
Dan Bacalzo, Theatremania
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WARMTH! SENSITIVITY! ACUTELY TALENTED THOMPSON!
Enough comedy to split your sides and enough commentary to engage your mind from the beginning to nearly the end...Her portrayals of family and friends, however, glow with gritty warmth and sensitivity, emphasizing their humanity with no sugar coating in sight. The (riots) in which Thompson and her little brother Toure try to get back to the safety of their home in the war zone, is the rawest in the show. It drives home the nature of unrest and the lessons children must be carefully taught with a more incisive edge than any other scene in the play...Blank's staging marshals everyone together with tact and taste. Both qualities also apply to the show as a whole, which reexamines well-worn civil rights tales through an even more recent lens, showing us a glimpse of a struggle for freedom that's both familiar and new.
Matthew Murray, Talkin Broadway
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APPEALING! TRUTHFUL!
"Liberty City" is a one-woman show starring a very appealing actress named April Yvette Thompson...the show has a lot of pep. Thompson's storytelling skills are solid and endearing...she telegraphs, truthfully, her awkwardness and uncertainty which ultimately win us over.
Hilton Als, The New Yorker
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VIVID! FORMIDABLE!
April Yvette Thompson co-wrote with Jessica Blank (who engagingly directs), has thus far spent her time and formidable energy weaving together a series of characterizations of family figures remembered from her youth. All are well delineated, but few are as vivid as Thompson playing her father, Saul, a bombastic political activist and intellectual with a radical edge... Indeed, until Thompson reaches the catastrophic results of that trial -- the officers' acquittal on all counts, igniting days of devastating riots -- Liberty City has seemed easy to categorize as another earnest work in which one actor showcases her versatility, acquiring and disposing accents, walks, and speech patterns as needed, though to what end remains unclear. Then Tal Yarden's video design, projected above Antje Ellermann's set, begins showing news footage from those riots -- this is, after all, documentary theatre -- and the air, like a fist, fills with tension. This is the play's raison d'etre -- a palpable dramatic moment.
Leonard Jacobs, Backstage
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REMARKABLE! LARGER THAN LIFE!
What's remarkable is how Thompson and Blank merge the personal narrative with a clear-eyed account of the era's racial politics without ever seeming naïve or narcissistic. Her family was so caught in the life of their time that, when things exploded, so did they. It's also a potentially star-making moment for Thompson, whose ability to conjure up characters at lightning speed is put to excellent use here. Her warm, intelligent presence always commands attention...a lovingly observed study of a family -- and a way of life -- in crisis that ends on a note of survival and self-realization. Thompson clearly kept her eyes open as a child, and here she brings it all vividly and meaningfully to life.
David Barbour, Lightingandsoundamerica.com
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BRILLANT...POWERHOUSE...UNRELENTING...
BREAKS THE HEART
In a climate where many theater writers demonize black men and offer no redemption for them, I applaud April Yvette Thompson. She's humanized what may appear to be a very dangerous man—one who questions everything. But more importantly, I applaud her for giving voice to a corner of the African-American experience rarely staged. Liberty City is certainly the journey of a girl searching for personal enlightenment, but it's also a testament to what people will do to sustain community, family and self.
Keith Josef Adkins, The Root.com
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HONESTY! COMEDY! HEARTACHE AND STRENGTH!
In Liberty City, the poetry is always there, a profound elegance.......Assisted by Jessica Blank's grounded direction, Mrs. Thompson smoothly propels herself between roles, ever growing the momentum and pace, until finally the tension erupts...April Yvette Thompson has given us the chance to learn from a fellow human . . . who just happens to be a tremendous performer.
Aaron Riccio, Thatsoundscool.blogspot
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AMAZING! MASTERFUL! FUNNY! HEARTBREAKING!
INSPIRING! LUMINOUS!
I think the best way to experience this show is to walk in a blank slate and just absorb the brilliance as it comes raging at you...Thompson commands the stage for ninety intermissionless minutes, and masterfully guides you on the odyssey of her life. Thompson inhabits each of these characters with a richness and a fullness that is spectacular in its specificity, yet loving in its reverence... The play's themes of strength and struggle, of hope and dreams, of history and heritage, are completely universal...My hunch is that the brilliance and complexity of this play and its luminous star are virtually bottomless.
Sclomomio, TheatreisEasy.com
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HEARTBREAKING! HOPEFUL! TIMELY!
Thompson pulls off six major characters (and a few minor ones) without making a single addition to or subtraction from her attire to delineate them, relying soley on vocal inflections, body language and an amazingly expressive face that ages, de-ages and changes genders without ever missing a beat...the physical transformation is uncanny...Thompson deserves credit for not shying away from putting everything on the table and not passing judgement on any one of her family members. Her story is a riveting one that weaves her family history with that of Liberty City’s into a 90-minute, intermission-less collection of increasingly emotional (though impressively restrained) anecdotes that lead to a conclusion that is simultaneously heart-breaking and hopeful, and more than a little bit timely.
Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, loudpoet.com
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TESTIMONIALS
A creatively and intelligently presented piece of work. Bravo to April for the ability to take hers and her families' life experiences and present them sensitively, and unflinchingly.
Delroy Lindo, Actor/Director
April Thompson's Liberty City provides the unlikely coupling of black nationalism and black Christian fundamentalism - unlikely, that is, for outsiders with a tendency to pigeonhole. For black folks the show expresses the very familiar humanity and complexity of being African-American. In ninety minutes the audience witnesses a personal exploration of slavery, the school system, the influx of crack, and a black pride exemplified in the words Earth, Wind and Fire. Her portrayal of the 1980 Miami uprising - or riot, depending on your POV - is so detailed and expansive that it is incredible to imagine there is only one person on the stage. The audience is buckled in for a wild roller coaster ride ending, like every sail on the Coney Island Cyclone, with the passenger feeling exhilarated, renewed and with the knowledge of a shared electrifying experience.
Kia Corthron, Playwright It's funny, sad, profound, crazy, universal, personal. No one will leave that room and not think about the family that made them what they are. This is about the best "American" piece of theatre I've seen from a contemporary.
Alfred Preisser, Artistic Director, Classical Theatre of Harlem
April Thompson masterfully weaves an entertaining, honest and compelling story of race, culture and family. She vibrates with talent, honesty, humor, stamina and skill throughout. It’s political, it’s personal, it’s engaging, very funny and very very moving.
Leigh Silverman, Director
April Yvette Thompson goes to those places most of us shudder to go to and because she is a witness as well as a brilliant actress and writer, she gives us permission to go to those places. I laughed and gasped. I heard the language, saw the landscape, felt the dancing/ swaying of her characters and felt the angst. How rare and necessary she is.
Dael Orlandersmith, Actress/Playwright
I have seen a lot of one-person shows, but I have to say that this one really ranks high on my list. Transitions were flawless, April’s performance was high-energy, well-paced, moving, and wildly entertaining. It’s very hard to do what she does, and she holds the audience’s attention from start to finish. I knew she was talented, but wow....guts.
Judy Bowman, Judy Bowman Casting
Fantastic theater: riveting, virtuosic, personal and warm, inflamatory, funny and real, and heartbreaking.
John Clinton Eisner, Producing Director
Lark Play Development Center There's no greater satisfaction than to be a part of a journey where people travel the long road from home... to finding their way back home. The extraordinary characters in April's stunning performance piece, LIBERTY CITY, travel that road with strength, courage and love. This play stayed with me.
Seret Scott, Director/Actress/Playwright
Liberty City is a personal and an artistic achievement for April Yvette
Thompson. It is truthful, heartfelt, poignant and entertaining. Quite an
amazing and touching experience. April is an exceptionally talented writerand actress. She has carved out a personal journey with grace, specificity and simplicity.
Maggie Flanigan, Director & Master Teacher
The Maggie Flanigan Studio
NEW YORK PREMIERE PRESS THE NEW YORK TIMES
Faces From a Neighborhood on the Brink
BY CELIA McGEE
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THE NY DAILY NEWS
April Yvette Thompson stars in 'Liberty City'
BY JOE DZIEMIANOWICZ
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BACKSTAGE
April Yvette Thompson: At 'Liberty'
BY ANDY PROPST
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Actor-playwright tells the story of her Liberty City in New York
BY CHRISTINE DOLEN
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MIAMI HERALD
Liberty City -- New York?
BY CHRISTINE DOLEN
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MIAMI PREMIERE PRESS
MIAMI HERALD
"Liberty City'" Comes Alive in One-Woman Show
BY CHRISTINE DOLEN
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'Liberty City" Reveals An Actress's Miami Roots
INTERVIEWED BY JIM BERRY
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Actress Returns Home to Inspire Youth
BY RENEE MICHELLE HARRIS
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MIAMIARTZINE.COM
Home Girl Makes Good
BY MARY DAMIANO
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MIAMI HERALD
`Liberty City' at Arsht through March 1
BY CHRISTINE DOLEN
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BROADWAYWORLD.COM
April Yvette Thompson in Miami Premiere of "Liberty City"
BY BEAU HIGGINS
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MIAMI HERALD
Powerful Memories Create Theatrical Portraits
BY CHRISTINE DOLEN
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SOUTH FLORIDA TIMES
One Woman Play on Liberty City Comes to Miami
BY RENEE HARRIS
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MIAMI HERALD
One Woman Show Recalls Miami Before 1980
BY DOROTHY FIELDS JENKINS
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