ALL IN ONE AND ONE IN ALL

With Except Myself at the Broadwater Black Box, playwright Drew Petriello has achieved a clever, slick, and absolutely entertaining deconstruction of the solo show concept.

Using the template of the classic absurdist play Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello, Petriello has fashioned his own “five characters in search of a solo show.”

It starts with a very structured, if somewhat dry, presentation by Slick (Clarissa Sie), who exclaims with ecstasy, “I love PowerPoint!” She is soon interrupted by the dramatic and creative Velma (Mandy Rubeli), who bursts in with her fantastical story of a flea kingdom she’s eager to share with the audience. Then comes Keanu (Thomas Hollow), brimming with tales of wild adventures with friends to regale everyone. Finally, there’s Unity (Petriello), who seeks collaboration among them all—but without much success. Lurking on the sidelines, quietly observing, is Whisperzoo (Audrey Valcourt), who eventually emerges as perhaps the central persona: “Devon,” of whom these others seem to be merely distended, unincorporated selves. This, of course, echoes the play’s title and its deeper resonance—”accept myself.”

Petriello has crafted a funny brawl between the conflicting natures we all carry inside ourselves and has assembled an excellent cast to personify those traits. With Brandon Karsh—a director abundantly capable of orchestrating the controlled chaos of Except Myself—the production achieves the fullest payoff of its comic mayhem.

Except Myself
The Broadwater (Black Box), 6322 Santa Monica Blvd
part of The Hollywood Fringe Festival
60 minutes; ends on June 28, 2025
for tickets ($10), visit Except Myself