Savannah Reich on Jack McManus

Dear Jack;

This was my first show of the Fringe! I got excited just walking into Plays & Players, where AJ and Zoë were in the lobby making to-do lists. We chatted about all the great shows they are hosting at the Lemonade Stand Hub, and said we were going to TRY to make each other’s shows but not promises because omigod September is just so much.

I appreciate you and Matthew for letting me come to the final dress of Notice Me Gwyneth, because it was the only way I could fit it into my schedule. It was actually a delight being one of two audience members, but I can also tell that Matthew is going to be even more hilarious and charming with a room full of people. I don’t think I’ve seen you as a director before! It was fun to see you finishing up the cue-to-cue when I came in; you’re very detail-oriented, which makes sense in someone who is also a set designer. Watching your tech made me feel very safe as an audience member- this was clearly not one of those Fringe shows that has only rehearsed twice and called it close enough (I’ve been guilty of this in the past and am now allergic to it). 

Of course the show is funny- Matthew’s chipper but irritable, high-maintenance character feels pitch perfect- but I was surprised by how moved I felt when he moved into a tender register. The peanut butter and jelly sandwich almost brought me to tears. A few of the moments where the character felt like he was getting close to his goal were played as unexpectedly sad; a really beautiful choice. I felt, again, really cared for as an audience- the six numbered sections written on the whiteboard told me where we were in the story, and Matthew’s performance felt precise and dialed in. At the same time, the show was always one step ahead of me- the surprise in the fifth part, which I won’t spoil here, was SO delightful, and gave the show a structure that I’ve never quite seen before. 

The whole arc of the show made me think about Gwyneth Paltrow and the modern perfectionist ideal that she represents, and I think this show successfully whips the mask off to reveal the same old classism and eating disorders we know so well. My Instagram feed is full of anti-aging serums and weirdly specific advice about what to eat for breakfast, just like everyone else’s, and usually it just kind of blends into background noise. Walking out of this show, I felt newly pissed off about it, and wide awake to what that background noise is doing to my brain while I think I’m ignoring it. 

Thank you (and Matthew) so much! 

Savannah

Jack McManus is the director of Notice Me Gwyneth at Lemonade Stand and Returned, Iridescent at Theater By Development.

Savannah Reich is the playwright of The Groundhog at Asian Arts, as a part of PTC’s Text and Dramaturgy Cohort and Cannonball.