An Interview With The Author

Why should I bother reviewing Matthew Freeman's new one-act, An Interview With the Author? As he sits there, sipping water as a tape recorder next to him recites a litany of praise for his previous plays, it hardly seems necessary for any of us to go on. As for the audience, well, he's there, too, for Mr. Freeman would never miss an opportunity to watch his own show, or to hear his own voice, and golly, look, there he is. Considering he's the interviewer too, and that I haven't said (nor do I intend to) one bad word about his show, it's safe to say that even I might be Matthew Freeman, in as much as his supporting cast were Matthew Freeman. But for all the pretension (this is, after all, part of the Brick's Pretentious Festival), Matt's found time to satirize the artistic process, lampooning himself as he tries to identify his own creativity, be that his parent's divorce, his failure to sympathize with Jesus, or his relationship with women. And it's funny, too, with a punchy rhythm (and some interesting, if not intentional, flubs) brought to it by director Kyle Ancowitz and Freeman's own sublimely confident poise. No wonder he goes to see his own plays.