[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of The Sphere of Fixed Stars in the Heavens written and directed by J. Holtham.
The Sphere of Fixed Stars was a big hit at last year’s Hollywood Fringe festival. Bespoke Plays brought it to NoHo’s Theatre 68 for a short run that included a few new scenes and gave those of us who missed it at Fringe a chance to catch this funny, poignant and truly magical play.
The Sphere of Fixed Stars is the story of two characters, Owen and Elodie, who meet at a party one night in North Hollywood, stargazing on the rooftop.
Elodie is a test pilot and about to travel through time in a series of experimental flights. Owen is entranced and they fall hard for each other. But Elodie’s flights, which only take minutes for her, take her away from Owen for weeks, then months then years. The struggle for them both is how to love in bits and pieces. Elodie is always leaving and Owen he is always waiting. Both heartbreaking in equal amounts I think. For anyone who has experienced a long distance love affair, this beautifully written and gorgeously acted play will take you right back to the pain and the passion of it all.
J. Holtman, playwright, screenwriter, podcaster and comic book writer has created two completely believable, lovable characters and thrown them into a spectacular story spanning multiple lifetimes and stretching our understanding of the universe in every direction.
There’s been so much epic discovery recently about space and time and dimensions. How we are all connected, all part of something else, something outside our understanding. So this lovely, sad, fascinating story is so timely and so needed. It’s really nice to think that we will all survive our present chaos. Good, in fact, to be reminded that we are just one tiny part of everything else all around us and always have been.
But it’s the performances that make this wonderful story work. Tiffany Smith as Elodie and VonDexter Montegut II as Owen are both storytellers in their own right. Both brilliant performers and both truthful, sweetly funny, and utterly believably as they spin this strange love story which turns a meet-cute to an epiphanic origin story of mystical proportions.
I absolutely loved The Sphere of Fixed Stars in the Heavens. You can feel an evolution taking place within the writing.
As the years travel by and one person stays the same and the other grows into a different life and a different world. How much of ourselves do we leave behind in everyone we love, or even in everyone we meet? How do we let go of tenderness to complete our destiny? How does the universe weave around us and can we try to accept our place within it.
If you are able to see this wonderful play and I hope are given the opportunity, please see it and bring those you love, you’ll want to hold them tight afterward!
The Cast of The Sphere of Fixed Stars in the Heavens
Tiffany Smith is a multi-faceted performer shining in acting (Quantum Leap, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Supernatural), presenting (DC Daily, E!), voice acting (Netflix’s Masters of the Universe, Gears of War), writing and producing (Curious Matter: The Exile). Whether it’s interviewing the top talents in Hollywood or taking center stage, she is a multi-hyphenate who brings something truly special to any size screen or stage.
VonDexter Montegut II is a multi-hyphenate storyteller and Bespoke Plays regular, most recognizable as the face of iPhone Guided Tours. His voice can be heard on audiobooks, podcasts such as After School Cinema Club and Brothers Alliance, and singing his heart out as one of the organizers of Hamiltunes LA.
The Team
This production will feature new scenes, set design by Amanda Knehans, costume design by Wren Witting, lighting design by Jack Kelly, and sound design by James Ingram. Fiona Cumming is stage manager.
Holtham is a screenwriter, playwright, and podcast and comic book writer. He has written for Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger, Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Supergirl on the CW and The Handmaid’s Tale. His comic book work includes work with Marvel Comics (Bishop: War College, Night Thrasher: Remix), IDW, and Epitaphs from the Abyss (Oni Press). He has worked with Ensemble Studio Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Bespoke Plays.
Bespoke Plays is the international writer-driven new play series through whose process this play was developed.
https://www.bespokeplays.com/home
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