Love

[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of Force of Nature Productions’ “Love,” directed by Sebastian Muñoz.

Sebastian Munoz’s deeply personal play, “Love” has just had a run at the lovely Brickhouse Theatre in NoHo. I’ve seen many plays at this tiny theatre, nestled in a quiet neighborhood in NoHo, just off Vineland and each time I visit I grow fonder of it. Small, brick built, single story, I always feel softly embraced by the creaking chairs in the gently sloping seating. So I think it’s the perfect setting for a play called “Love.”

The play begins the moment you step inside, as you sit the cast is already onstage, giggling at their phones which light up their joyful faces.  It’s perhaps an acceptance of our present habit of flicking through our social media or emails or texts while we wait for a show to begin, or an appointment to happen or a date to arrive. Nothing to be ashamed of.  I often have wonderful emotive moments with my phone, as I’m sure most of us do. And so the mood is set as one of a collective, those on stage and those in the audience. We are all human, we are all equal, we are all searching for love. 

Every scene is a reflection of different kinds of love. Paternal, maternal, romantic, companion, creative, reflective, funny, sad and everything in between. Then there are stories from each of the cast members, self written, scattered throughout, neatly punctuating the show.  It gives a lovely rhythm to the piece. A rounding of the stories. A simple technique that keeps the tone of humanism and sweet reflection as a center.  I think it’s particularly poignant that Sebastian revolves around his cast in this way. They are all singularly brilliant. All unique, all intensely gifted storytellers and genuinely emotionally connected to each other. There’s such a joy to that and a triumph too. That we are all so disparate and yet so completely connected by our communal experiences, whether we like it or not!  In the end we are left with the question, what it is to be a human being, particularly after the last few years of sickness, war and division? This play, without taking a position, is somewhat of an answer to that. Love is human. Compassion is human. Forgiveness is human. And storytelling is very, very human.

I hope Force of Nature Productions continues to develop and produce stories like “Love.” We all need to be reminded that we have so much more in common with each other than we do not. And that all we need is “Love.”

“Love” featured the talents of Charlotte Cocker, Carlos Chavez, Jennifer Novak Chun, Redetha Deason, Ron Gabaldon, Tom Jones, Randy Marquis, Holly Sidell, and Emlee Vassilos

You can find out more about Force of Nature Productions and their upcoming shows here: https://www.fonproductions.com/