Valentino review: "Amazing writing!"

The sixth review of Valentino: a play in verse at the Hollywood Fringe Festival is the most positive one yet. HFF Panelist Craig Shaynak saw the show closing night. He says, "what amazing writing. Kudos to David Wisehart for his clever and complex script," and adds, "there were some very funny and clever turns of phrase."

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Valentino review: "a unique theatrical voice"

The fifth review of Valentino: a play in verse at the Hollywood Fringe Festival is by HFF Panelist Chris Salazar, who attended the opening night performance. He says the play "succeeds on many levels. It offers a unique theatrical voice and a platform for strong ensemble acting. Also it tells an intriguing story."

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Valentino review: "beautiful piece"

The fourth review of Valentino: a play in verse at the Hollywood Fringe Festival is short and to the point. HFF Panelist Cindy Marie Jenkins calls the play a "beautiful piece" and gives praise to performers Sam Fleischer (Machiavelli) and Lachlan McKinney (Ramiro), but the best quote is: "In the title role of Valentino, Renato Biribin, Jr. wipes the floor with his victims, both physically and mentally."

Love it!

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Valentino review: "full of beautiful poetry"

The third review of Valentino: a play in verse at the Hollywood Fringe Festival comes from HFF Panelist Gregory Crafts. He writes, "Wisehart's script is full of beautiful poetry overflowing with striking imagery and clever witticisms." The verse, he says, is written "with skill and proficiency" and the story is "brimming with passion, action, adventure, and suspense." He also praises the performances of Renato Biribin, Jr. (Valentino) and Summer Dare Litwin (Lucrezia Borgia).

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Valentino review: "So many clever lines!"

The second review of Valentino: a play in verse at the Hollywood Fringe Festival comes from HFF Panelist Jacqetta Szathmari, who admits right off that she's a "sucker for verse." After noting that the script is full of clever lines, she raves, "The story had it all — love, hate, vengeance, scheming, bloody murder, a decent body count, fratricide, a crooked philandering Pope, seduction, sword fights." She goes on to call Valentino "a driven man who is not afraid to get medieval," and adds, "If you are looking for big drama — here it is."

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Valentino review: "Absolutely riveting!"

The first posted review for Valentino: a play in verse at the Hollywood Fringe Festival comes from HFF Panelist Pam Noles, who calls the show "absolutely riveting." The story, she says, is "excellent, filled with political and personal intrigue, high drama and some serious bad-ass wordsmithing."

Nice!

She goes on to say that the verse "flows with the ease of conversation," and praises the performances of Renato Biribin, Jr. (Valentino), Summer Dare Litwin (Lucrezia Borgia), and Neil Fleischer (Pope Alexander VI).

Read the full review.

"Valentino: a play in verse" — audience reaction

Valentino: a play in verse opened this past weekend at The Hollywood Fringe Festival in a world premiere production at The Complex in Hollywood.

Audience response was enthusiastic. Here's a video interview with the audience, cast, crew, and a couple of play-crashers:



For more information: Valentino: a play in verse

Tickets on sale now for "Valentino: a play in verse"

You can now buy tickets for the world premiere of Valentino: a play in verse at the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

Buy now.

Valentino on Facebook

To promote the Hollywood Fringe Festival staging of my play, I've set up a Facebook page for Valentino: a play in verse.

Become a fan!

Valentino Gets a Project Page on the Hollywood Fringe Festival Website

The Hollywood Fringe Festival has approved Valentino for inclusion on their festival website. You can see my project page here: Valentino: a play in verse.

The next step is to find and secure a performance venue. Several Hollywood theaters have already joined the Hollywood Fringe Festival. No doubt more venues will be joining in the months ahead. I think Valentino would work best in a traditional 99-seat theater, but other venues are certainly possible. I've acted in Shakespeare in the Park productions, and Valentino could do well in a similar outdoor setting. We'll see what develops.

The deadline to secure a venue and pay the festival fee is April 1, 2010. I need to start checking out spaces and raising funds.

Valentino at the Hollywood Fringe Festival

I've decided to stage Valentino: a play in verse at the Hollywood Fringe Festival. The festival runs June 17-27, 2010.

To date, the play has been workshopped at the College of the Canyons, received a public reading at the Valencia library, and been published through Lulu. I have also performed monologues from the play at a College of the Canyons actor's showcase.

The next step is to mount a production. I'll be posting updates about the show here.