American Song
“I’m not a religious person — I don’t say that with any kind of pride, I’m just stating it — but even without God’s presence, it’s only human nature to wonder if for all of us there is a kind of…moral reckoning?”
American Song is an intimate new work by acclaimed Melbourne playwright Joanna Murray-Smith. A provocative and profound tour-de-force for one actor, played by Red Stitch ensemble member Joe Petruzzi, American Song is a play about parenting, love and the question: what could I have done differently?
Commissioned and first produced in the United States last year to great acclaim, this will be the Australian premiere of a play that reaches beyond national or cultural borders.
Andy has much in common with many of us: the slow accumulation of a good life; love, work, friendship, children. But unforeseen events lead him to places he never imagined… Can we ever know the exact moment a good life turns irredeemably bad?
Directed by Tom Healey, this witty philosophical theatrical jewel reveals the terrifying ways our ordinary lives can become extraordinary.
NOTE: Full Price listed is for a double pass. Members may take up single tickets
Feedback/Comments
A completely engaging performance.
Very good, but felt it was slightly too long.
Powerful. Significant.Worrying.
What an extraodinary, topical play. Emotionally engaging from the start. Go see it!
Joe Petruzzi is alone on stage for over one gripping hour. Each word he utters bears significance. He shares with us his life, in such a genuine manner, you feel that you are the only person he is talking to. When you see a one man show, often, it is easy to be distracted, bored - not this show. It was perfectly timed. It was sincere.
Most importantly, this show must be watched, must be understood by people who think it is ok to own weapons.
I suggest this show to be taken on a tour. It needs a large venue. It needs to go to The USA...
Tonight was powerful, moving. American Song went above and beyond my expectations.
Thank you.
American Song is an incredible story about a man's life and hopes for himself & his family and future ...
a very dramatic set ...
we see him building a wall with mere stones and a coloured sky ...
the wall is a metaphor for life ...
one stone at a time ...
tells his story about his wife and son ...
his promotion at work ...
his time in New York ...
his hopes and fears for the future ...
his insightful words about how precarious life can be ...
his life unravels in a most unpredictable and tragic fashion ...
this play is intense and authentic in its rawness ...
emotional, heartfelt ...
extremely thought provoking ...
there is an intimacy about this play where his pain and frustration resonates with the audience ...
the play runs for 1 hour 25 minutes ...
a very timely reminder about modern day life and its challenges ...
a superb play ...
would highly recommend ...
Superb- captivated from beginning to end. Wonderful Joe Petruzzi!
Great acting, very emotionally involved.
Powerful performance from Joe Petruzzi. Play with astute observations of life. Topically, American Song is right on song with current US tragedy.
Brilliant play and acting
This was an interesting, but ultimately disappointing, one for me.
An American play dealing with particularly American issues commissioned for an Australian play write for an American theatre, performed by an Australian actor in an American accent for an Australian audience. Somewhere, terrible phrase, it got lost in translation.
The actor gave it his best shot, no question, and the script had all the hallmarks of good theatre in terms of structure, tension, build, layers, side humour, history, but it felt, ultimately, unconvincing. It was as if the play write had done all the research and put in all the references that would resonate at a glance, but there were too many false notes to carry it off.
The intimacy of the theatre was a challenge, but that wasn't a problem because the actor committed the whole time and never dropped his focus. There were just bum notes and then a chain yank of a finale complete with pin star lights and stirring music.