DEFINITION OF MAN:
A Duet in One Act
REVIEWS
Praise for "Definition of Man" from Hollywood Fringe 2017:
"In the moment when all other things are stripped away, we face ourselves—what we do, what we feel, how we react. THIS is the substance of this marvelous two person play taking place after the end of the world. What happened? We don’t know. It doesn’t matter what happened to the world. This world is now a man and woman who are supposed to love each other." -David MacDowell Blue, Reviewer, The World Through Night-Tinted Glasses (blog)
"I feel that I have just experienced an intimate moment with the post-apocalyptic Adam and Eve. Jarring, palpable, intense. This is one of those rare stories that’s all about words and communication and yet, at the same time, it’s about none of that at all. We spend so much of our lives saying what we don’t actually mean and placing more meaning on things we never say. This play lives in that notion. It deconstructs it, strips our ability to speak and articulate our thoughts “properly,” and renders it all into feeling. I was so moved that I’ve seen it twice already. ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS." -Ruth Isabel Guerra, Dinner Party (blog)
"Overall, the show is bold in form and content, unapologetically high-brow but with enough sweat and passion to stop it feeling dry and purely academic." -Guy Picot, FringeReview
"Definition of Man is many things: a love story, a movement piece, a poem, a philosophical treatise. Most of all, it’s a reflection of humanity. And it’s truly extraordinary." - Payden Ackerman
"An amazing look at the constant state of the human condition. Poetic without being pretentious. Intelligent without being excessively challenging. Thought provoking, yet still relatable. Then with an amazingly impressive layer of physicality added on top. I truly can't recommend this show enough." - Brian Wallis
"This show dares to go where others are afraid to, and pushes boundaries that will make you think." - Laura Wiley
"Nikki’s exquisite writing has hints of Pirandello, echoes of Beckett, and uses her wide-ranging literary and philosophical knowledge to present a script that is tight, engaging and thought-provoking." Marcus J Freed, certified reviewer
"a truly impressive movement/character piece featuring great performances and effective staging" - Matt Ritchey, certified reviewer
"Arrive as a blank canvas, ready to learn, feel, and experience some phenomenal theatre" -Nick Rubando
"This philosophical gem, developed by both actors and written by Muller, uses language(s), movement, music, and even great silence to explore the existential crises not just in greater humanity and within themselves, but in the micro-moment flashes of a wilting relationship." - Richard Lucas, certified reviewer
Advanced Praise for "Definition of Man" from the workshop performance:
"I'm still looking for the words. It was intense. It was dramatic. It was intimate and vulnerable but none of those words come close to describing what you created. I need new words. There is a secret self that we never talk about, not even to ourselves. It cannot die but it's afraid to live. Afraid of it's power, afraid of how we could destroy those we love. Afraid that the very speaking of it will destroy the little joy we have manage to construct out of the safe world we have decided to expose to others. You have managed to touch that spirit. We communicate with words and bodies but rarely do we communicate our immortal indomitable soul."
"That was authentic, refreshing, and internally SUPER uncomfortable--I loved it. Someone wise once told me that I shouldn't bother with art that doesn't transform your life in some way. Thanks for being a part of the transformation."
"Nikki Muller and Jason Rosario put on a beautiful display of theater. Their production Definition of Man was genuine, transparent and raw. A rollercoaster of emotion. These two are beyond talented and I wish I had the words to truly express how hard their piece struck me. In one hour I was able to look inward and really evaluate myself as a person in a way that I thought didn't exist beyond my mind."