ESTROGENIUS FESTIVAL at Manhattan Theatre Source

(Seen 9/30/09)

Now celebrating its 10th season, the Festival presents a varied series of short plays, written, directed, and produced by women. The evening I attended consisted of four comedic pieces, and one serious vignette with great political and social depth.

The casts of all the plays were accomplished and well-suited to the material. The comedy presentation were mostly amusing skits, in sharp contrast to the single thoughtful little drama.

Full disclosure on my part is that I am acquainted with Elaine Romero and her work -- so my bias is that I am a harsher judge of her work than I might be if I did not know her abilities.

That said, her current offering, REVOLUTIONS, though brief in length, is a fully-realized play. with developed characters, plot turns, and meaningful social comment, As ably directed by Laura Tesman, and movingly acted by Fulvia Vergel and Andrew Eisenman, it comes across as an effective piece of theatre. At the same time, it reveals enough backstory so that it could become part of a longer work.