[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of Gabriella DeMarco’s The House Whisperer, directed by Jessica Lynn Johnson part of the Whitefire Theatre’s Solofest 2024.
The House Whisperer is an absolutely brilliant, in-depth, no holds bared journey through the house flipping, Airbnb-owning, mogul-aspiring life of Gabriella DeMarco. Pre-covid she had plans…big ones. Buying property out in the desert and investing all her money, sweat and hard work. She’s a big visualizer. A manifester, an inspirational woman who pushes through her fear and stress toward big bold scary goals.
Of course sometimes things don’t work out…and if covid did anything for any of us it certainly proved that. With her first big investment taking four times as long as she hoped to fix up, with live-in and totally unreliable workers, hell bent on spending all Gabriella’s money on fire pits rather than repairs, it’s a wonder she came out of it alive at all! But on she battled and instead of being more cautious she became more brave, buying a second property in the dessert, with snakes and rats and lord knows what else to contend with. Yet she still managed to create her own little piece of bliss in amongst the scorpions and rattles snakes and the isolation.
It’s a crazy story and not one I think I would have survived with as much humor as Gabriella, but then that’s what a solo show is all about really. Taking an audience on a wild ride and still managing to surprise them.
The show is wonderfully crafted and Gabriella is a gifted performer, hilarious and truthful and gorgeous. She reenacts each pivotal moment with grace and a wonderful comic gift that helps her give voices to her houses, and numerous other creatures and object and characters. I can just imagine her striding through Home Depot in her heels, daring anyone to get in her way as she fills her cart with everything she needs to feed her dream.
I’m doing some work on my house right now, and I can tell you it’s mind boggling how many things you have to get right to get it done. And that’s without getting bad advice or being over charged, or running out of money. Your house is the biggest investment most of us will ever make and it’s literally petrifying to imagine what could go wrong and the impact that could have on your life. But Gabriella, in spite of her fears, is courageous. She has fierce focus, and big dreams and I for one pity the person who gets in her way!
It’s a brilliant show. Very very funny, achingly truthful and a wonderful ride through Gabriella’s last couple of years. The House Whisperer is like the best kind of long after-dinner conversation with friends. A stirring cautionary tale of property madness…but with a happy ending.