Gretty Good Time presented by Theater Alliance at H Street Playhouse

Gretty Good Time

H Street Playhouse
1365 H Street NE Washington

Set in 1955, Gretty Good Time is a dark comedy that mixes historical fact and poetic flights of fancy to tell the story of Gretty, who has lived her life in a nursing home since childhood who is visited in her dreams by Hideko, a young Japanese woman whose face was disfigured in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Together, they climb into Gretty's flying wheelchair and go back in time to confront the painful memories that haunt them.

Presented by Theater Alliance

Thru - Jul 3, 2010

Price: $20 - $30

Show Type: Dark Comedy

Running Time: 2 hrs; one intermission

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Gretty Good Time Reviews

Average Rating based on 4 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Washington Post - Highly Recommended

"...The script is by John Belluso, a disabled playwright who died several years ago at age 36, so it's no surprise that the dialogue rings true whether Gretty is hotly debating medical ethics or serenely retreating into fantasy. The Theater Alliance production at the H Street Playhouse -- part of the International VSA Festival, a citywide affair anchored by the Kennedy Center -- has its arid patches, but it's clear and ultimately forceful, especially in Ann Colby Stocking's fierce performance as Gretty."

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- Nelson Pressley

Washington City Paper - Highly Recommended

"...Gretty’s a crank, and I mean that in the nicest possible way. The title character in John Belluso’s Gretty Good Time is cantankerous, sharp-tongued, egocentric, verbally abusive even to folks who treat her well, and—largely as a result—excellent theatrical company."

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- Bob Mondello

The Hill Is Home - Recommended

"...From the title, “Gretty Good Time” may sound like one of those frivolous musicals from the 1930s or a comedy farce originating from England. The play, being performed at the H Street Playhouse now through July 3 and directed by Jeanette Buck, is neither of those. It is, instead, an intimate look at the internal and external struggles of a woman stricken with polio in the 1950s. Her nursing home room is the place where most of the physical action occurs in this work by the late John Belluso. And while there are light and sarcastically comedic moments throughout the show, the tone is darker and more thought-provoking than a casual glance at the title suggests."

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- Jon Penndorf

DCTheatreScene - Recommended

The “must see” feature is Ann Colby Stocking as Gretty, a tough as nails survivor of childhood polio who is ready to chuck it all rather than stay imprisoned in her nonfunctional body. Stocking is exquisite from her first moments writhing on the floor in pain in her failed attempt to escape from her medical care facility, through the full cycle of plotting her own demise rather than be institutionalized, to discovering her own unexpected resolve to live.

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- Debbie Jackson

Gretty Good Time presented by Theater Alliance at H Street Playhouse

Gretty Good Time

Gretty Good Time Reviews

Washington Post - Highly Recommended

Washington City Paper - Highly Recommended

The Hill Is Home - Recommended

DCTheatreScene - Recommended

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