Press Quotes
“MISHA’S PARTY is an example of two creative minds finding a common language to brew an enjoyable and stimulating broth … the play is a noteworthy alternative to the current vogue of having playwrights translate and adapt the works of dead playwrights … The players invited to the party not only squeeze every drop of humor from the pivotal character’s chaotic relationships but tap into the emotional and political ideas bubbling beneath the surface … The plot’s comedic wellspring is a dinner arranged by Misha to celebrate his 60th birthday and to reconcile his past. From that past he’s invited two ex-wives and their husbands. To complete the family circle there’s his twenty-five-year-old future wife who’s two years younger than her roommate and his daughter. In Misha’s suit pocket is a speech designed to effect this reconciliation. As if the volatility of this core guest list weren’t enough, the party takes place on August 20, 1991 and the hotel dining room faces the Russian White House being besieged during an attempted coup d’etat. That this political turbulence within earshot reflects the familial turbulence on stage is obvious from the title in which the playwrights slyly hint that Misha, which is a nickname for Mikhail (as in Gorbachev), is not the only one whose party does not end as expected. This political subtext also contributes a parallel story centering on a smaller group of American travelers. These include Mary, a woman Misha’s age with her own uneasy family situation. Her rebellious sixteen-year-old granddaughter is having an affair with Fred, a younger version of the womanizing Misha. What’s more, she’s disappeared into the tank-filled Moscow streets, just as her grandmother, lover and a friend of her father’s are trying to get them safely out of the country … [a] stockpot of amusing dialogue [with] zesty flavor …” —Elyse Sommer, CurtainUp