“CRITIC'S PICK...
Let's cut straight to the chase. First-rate acting, and ingeniously constructed story, exquisite technical aspects, and skillful direction lead this admonition: You must experience this play. Or is it plays? Tom Jacobson's world premiere follows two unrelated couples, visiting five Italian cities, who are trapped in a hellish collision of fate as they live out cross-referenced realities. This mixture of déjà vu and shocking Twilight Zone-like inevitability results in a five-scene time continuum captivatingly performed in reverse order on alternating weekends. Jacobson's darkly comic script couldn't be in better hands than those of director Michael Michetti. Juxtapositioned character arcs create a palindrome where in each version of the show one couple begins knowledgeable and slowing forgets while the other operates in an opposed mirror image. This could play as sci-fi fodder if not for the remarkable cast. As a Lutheran minister and his mentally unstable wife, K.C. Marsh and Shauna Bloom exude the essence of a relationship in desperate deterioration. Likewise Taylor Gilbert and Paul Witten as an Episcopalian novitiate and her gay friends struggle with pain concerning his recently deceased partner and her subsequent self-shrouding in the stability of religion. Each succumbs to an unalterable sense of predestination as Jacobson's story careens down paths paved with lust, self-mutilation, and doubt. Witten's masterful use if a raised eyebrow, cattily underplayed responses, and full-blown hysteria is perfect. For sheer virtuosity, both in dress and characters, hats off to Josh Gordon, who is credited with playing The Italians. His quick-change ability - with the assistance of designer Rae Dawn Belt's efficient costuming - in navigating the stage and reappearing as a cop, a gondolier, a jeweler, three different priests, and even Satan masquerading as Jesus Christ, must be seen to be believed. Furthering Jacobson's quest for deeper examination of faith and fear, Jeremy Pivnick provides a vertically based lighting plot lacing shadows across scenic designer Desma Murphy's Gothically inspired arches and aged stone steps, benches, and entryways. David B. Marling's mixture of sound effects and up-tempo Italian chants produce goose bumps. Seen together or alone, this is a thought-provoking pair of hits!'
- BACK STAGE WEST

“RECOMMENDED...
Tom Jacobson's enchanting metaphysical etude hangs on the idea of two American couples touring Italy - each inexplicably (to them) in possession of identical rings designed with a snake eating its tale. The play is largely about how they came to own such mystical jewelry, and its effects upon them. Among those effects is the way both couples are ensnared in a time glitch. With all the erudition of classical and pagan mythology, of God and devils, of sin and redemption, 'Ouroboros' is a highbrow Twilight Zone and a comedy of opposites ever so carefully and symmetrically balanced. It also features David B. Marling's entrancing sound design, richly detailed characters and fine performances, tenderly directed by Michael Michetti!"
- L.A. WEEKLY

“THREE STARS
Either way you happen to slice, twist or pretzel it, ‘Ouroboros’ is riveting. Jacobson isn't using gimmickry for its "gee, isn't this cool!" value. He's interested in contrasts, certainly. Themes of heaven and hell, Christ and Satan, fidelity and adultery all wind their way across the churches and ruins of present-day Italy (designed with elegant simplicity by Desma Murphy). Four Americans are caught in an unbreakable cosmic loop, and a mighty good thing it is that they figure out what's going on and can explain it to us. As intelligent and thought-provoking as it is entertaining!” - DAILY NEWS

“INTOXICATING
energetic direction, top-notch performances, and the Road’s typically great production values Michetti’s masterfully achieved ambience drives the action, via fast-paced scenes that encircle the audience, augmented by Desma Murphy’s ethereal and wonderfully atmospheric set. The performances of the four principals are superb, and Josh Gordon deserves major kudos for his versatile embodiment of priests, con artists, gigolos, and other colorful characters. Jacobson’s plays are always stimulating, and this one is no exception beautifully crafted, premiere mounting!”

- FRONTIERS

“FASCINATING, funny, highly dramatic
Jacobson's universe plays tricks with time, using it to put the characters on a collision course that meets in the middle of the play where Margaret and Philip make love. The last two acts deal with their reactions. One chooses Heaven, the other Hell. The central act of their lives is reflected in many other metaphors -- for example, Margaret's beautiful voice which she loses when she comes to Italy and regains during her odyssey, and Tor's stigmata as a result of the erotic and highly dramatic fulfillment of his fantasy to make love to a priest. Jacobson's writing is so dramatic and tight and director Michael Michetti's direction so rivetingly paced that there's little time to contemplate the subtleties but in this case broad brush strokes are enough. The play is a wonderful way to explore how differently people react to the needs and imperatives of faith and love. Did I mention humor and suspense? It is always a pleasure to revisit one of Desma Murphy's sets which make towering ecclesiastical use of The Road Company's infinitesimal stage. Jeremy Pivnick's shadowy lighting is almost a character in itself!” - CURTAINUP.COM

“TERRIFIC
In this fascinating adventure, two couples engage in a traveling palindrome: as they travel from city to city in Italy time flows in opposite directions
If this all sounds confusing, it really isn't. Jacobson and director Michael Michetti make it all work far better than I can explain it in a single paragraph. Suffice it to say, the audience is never in the dark about what is happening, and the excellent cast makes it all flow smoothly---and even logically, in a supernatural sort of way. As the couples race through Desma Murphy's multiple-level, ominous series of archways and stairwells, they are each on an individual quest, searching for love, for meaning, for faith, for God, for their destinies Either way, it's a mind-blowing trip!” - BEVERLY HILLS OUTLOOK

“WOW! This innovative play is a stunner that renders its audience baffled and rewardingly exhausted throughout and for long after curtain call. I’ve never seen anything like it! A powerfully mesmerizing trip into the unknown, and a wildly worthy night of theatre that challenges your imagination, it keeps your psyche hopping! Captivatingly written by Tom Jacobson, this is complicates, eerie, heady stuff! As usual here, the production was abundant in sheer perfection in every possible theatrical area. From the breathtaking performances, to the brilliantly stylized direction of Michael Michetti, on through he behind-the-scenes efforts, Road Theatre Co, is always “as good as it gets!” The gorgeous gothic set by Desma Murphy, impressively thunderous sound and music by David B. Marling, chilling lighting by Jeremy Pivnick, and creative costuming by Rae Dawn Belt, triumphantly set the tone for the strange experience ahead. I’ve saved the actors for last, because the stellar performances of this gifted cast of five are so impeccable, it’s difficult to find the words of praise they deserve. All equally focused and powerful, this is a remarkable lesson in ensemble genius! Taylor Gilbert, Shauna Bloom, K.C. Marsh, Paul Witten and Josh Gordon (who amazingly portrays multiple colorful Italian characters) achieve flawless depictions throughout! Avid theatergoers should definitely catch this one! It’s a brain teaser!”

- THE TOLUCAN TIMES

“PICK OF THE WEEK
‘Ouroboros,’ presented by the Road Theatre Company at the Lankershim Arts Center, is one of the best productions to hit L.A. this season. Tom Jacobson’s mysterious and intellectually challenging new puzzle featuring two plays in one, directed by Michael Michetti, one of Los Angeles theatre’s most treasured artists, unfolds in two opposing directions on alternating weekends I have only been able to see one version of the play so far, but thanks to excellent press and well-deserved bravura reviews, it looks as though the company will be announcing an extension soon. I for one would feel robbed of something special if I don’t have the cathartic opportunity to see it unfold in the reverse order Jacobson’s unique and often twisted love story is beautifully realized under the sharp and inventive directorial eye of Michetti, played out on a dynamic and cleverly versatile set by Desma Murphy and under Jeremy Pivnik’s sometimes purposely discordant lighting effects. It also boasts excellent, committed performances, including a knockout turn by the Road’s gifted artistic director Taylor Gilbert as Margaret, a remarkably randy American nun whose quickie with a married minister (K.C. Marsh) makes her realize his faith inverts her own “like a mirror” and leads to her complete spiritual transformation—I suspect when viewed in either direction. Road regular Paul Witten (best remembered in the company’s hugely successful ‘Woman in Black’) is again a standout as her best friend Tor, a recently “widowed” gay man on a breakneck sexual quest to find a hot Italian stud with a yen for Stateside ass Josh Gordon is amazing in a plethora of small but juicy roles Marsh and Shauna Bloom are fine compliment to the others as the questioning visiting midwestern pastor and his wife, a troubled couple trying to survive his crash of faith and her psychotropic medications. This quartet of highly gifted people, together their uber-imaginative leader and his world-class team of designers, have linked to create a magnificent tribute to this quickly blossoming and Los Angeles nurtured playwright, someone who will soon be universally recognized, in a perfect world where things happen as they should and in ascending order!”

- ENTERTAINMENT TODAY