Naked Stage: No Exit (4 reviews)

The Naked Stage opened its production of Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit on October 29, 2010.

Three strangers find themselves in hell; they are escorted, one by one, into a room by a mysterious bellboy, who fails to reveal what they are to expect for the rest of eternity. As the plot thickens, they become more and more aware of themselves, each other, and the reason why the three of them were put together.

Antonio Amadeo and John Manzelli direct a cast that features Katherine Amadeo, Deborah L. Sherman, Andy Quiroga, and Mark Della Ventura.

Brandon K. Thorp reviewed for The Miami New Times:

No Exit's most famous line — "Hell is other people!" — is the play's sole subject and very nearly its sole point. To explore the idea, Sartre deposits three humans in a Hell that, in the Naked Stage production, looks a little like a boutique hotel in a former Eastern Bloc country: small furniture and personal touches that clash subtly with the airless functionalism of the walls and ceiling.

Directors Antonio Amadeo and John Manzelli don't quite get the actors to cohere. Andy Quiroga as Joseph understates, Katherine Amadeo as Estelle overstates, while Deborah L. Sherman's work as Inez is typically figurative. Yet the actors are fine individually, and the show packs considerable dramatic punch.

Christine Dolen reviewed for The Miami Herald:

Directed by co-founders Antonio Amadeo and John Manzelli, featuring artistic director (and third co-founder) Katherine Amadeo in its four-person cast, Naked Stage's No Exit displays the many virtues of this company that produces shows all too rarely.

From the performances to the design work, Naked Stage nails its vision of No Exit - and Sartre's.

All four actors deliver strong, unsettling performances, but Sherman makes Inez the drama's most arresting presence. To Cradeau, she is bullying and disdainful; to Estelle, she's frighteningly predatory.

Mary Damiano reviewed for South Florida Theater Review:

Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialist masterpiece No Exit... is currently being treated to an intense production by Naked Stage... Co-directors and Naked Stage co-founders Antonio Amadeo and John Manzelli have tapped a talented ensemble for No Exit.

Mark Della Ventura has a few short scenes... but his overly jovial manner and maniacal smile speaks volumes.

Andy Quiroga... is a powerful performer, at his best when he locks horns with his cellmates...

Deborah L. Sherman... was born to play this character. With her rail-straight posture and stern expression, she snarls and spits and hisses each line, imbuing Inez with venomous glee.

Katherine Amadeo.... looks every inch the spoiled, entitled society woman... She skillfully displays a gamut of emotions in those short moments—fear, joy, anger, disdain, grief.

Roger Martin reviewed for MiamiArtzine.com:

Were I a religious person, I would not have slept much last night after falling thrall to the power of this play and of this production at Naked Stage.

Co-directors Antonio Amadeo and John Manzelli have seemingly floated this salon out towards the audience and because the room also has a ceiling the effect, as my wife pointed out, is of peeping through a doll's house window. But the peeps soon turn into mesmerized stares as we watch Mark Della Ventura, Andy Quiroga, Deborah L. Sherman  and Katherine Amadeo peel the layers off each other and themselves.

No Exit plays at The Naked Stage through November 21, 2010.