Jacob’s House Review: Toby Thelin, Theatre Knights (&Daze)

(Photo: Justin Hoch at jhoch.com. Pictured: Jessica Angleskhan, Zack Calhoon, Isaiah Tanenbaum)

Flux is very lucky: we have now developed a relationship with critics and artist-bloggers that stretches over multiple shows to create a shared body of call and response. Toby Thelin has now seen 6 Flux shows – from the 3 plays of the Angel Eaters Trilogy, to Pretty Theft and The Lesser Seductions of History, and now to Jacob’s House.

This kind of long term relationship is critical (pun sadly intended) to a young company, because it allows us to better gauge the external perception of our progress. So an excerpted comment like this…

“This is a company where the core members are comfortable enough with each other to really take risks, pushing themselves and each other to attain greater performances…The acting in this company tends to keep getting better with each successive production, and that’s not a bad trait to have…Isaiah Tanenbaum frankly surprised me in his role as the Lawyer/Messenger; Isaiah has consistently delivered solid, well-thought out performances, but in this one he goes above and beyond, inhabiting the skin of his character to an almost frightening extent, truly a joy to watch.”

…is truly gratifying to read – creating an artistic home where our community of artists and audience push each other is exactly what Flux is about.

Toby goes on to offer some insightful criticism regarding the complexity of the play; in particular, the number and treatment of the secondary characters. I’m curious if others had this experience – I tried to create vivid, full-bodied roles even for single-scene characters – but it may be that extending that intensity to secondary characters clouds the overall focus of the play. This is something Aaron mentioned in his review, as well; so I look forward to seeing if this is a common response to the play.

Toby ends on this happy note:

“As in all Flux Theater Ensemble productions, there is a whole lotta love in Jacob’s House. When that love is combined with the careful craft and growing talent of this remarkable company, the end result is well worth experiencing.”

So take his advice, read the whole thing here, then get your tickets, and after you’ve seen the show, please share your thoughts here.