

“It was just a cool way to see how there’s a show that’s bringing these issues into the public light.”Īttorney Mary David from Washington D.C., friend of De Cecco, agreed. “I love legal dramas on TV,” De Cecco said. “For the People” was created by Shondaland’s Paul William Davies, who executive produces alongside Shonda Rhimes, Betsy Beers and Tom Verica.ĭaniel De Cecco, a second-year law student who wants to become a criminal prosecutor, said he particularly liked that the pilot of the show brought issues of race and gender to the public light.
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The show is from the executive producers of “ Scandal,” “ How to Get Away With Murder” and “ Grey’s Anatomy” and is the newest addition to Shondaland‘s TV show empire. The series, which is set in the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York, follows the lives of six talented young lawyers who handle the most high-profile and high-stakes federal cases in the country. Messing didn’t pick some revival or obvious showcase for her comedic chops: she strives mightily and beautifully to find her way through a wise and sad drama, just like the character she plays.The Pepperdine student body and staff intermixed for a screening of the pilot episode of ABC’s new legal drama, “ For the People” on Monday, March 5. This production certainly won’t be getting Star Baker anytime soon.”Ĭhicago Tribune: “a truly must-see show that is fully successful when it comes to everything that really matters. Sure it may smell nice for a minute or two when it comes out of the oven but it is hard to not feel underwhelmed by its lack of complex flavors, its missing layers, and its absent decorations. Theater Mania: ” Birthday Candles as a play feels much like this overly-hyped cake, which in reality is just a run of the mill vanilla cake made up of a single, unfrosted layer. She doesn’t much like her life until the final reel when it dawns on our heroine that self-sacrifice is noble.” Instead, she gets stuck baking cakes and popping out babies. It goes back to weepie movies in which the lead female character claims to be a “rebel,” wants to see the world and make a difference. Time Out: ** “Messing knows how to make the sentimental bits work-the play elicits sympathetic “aThe Wrap: “Otherwise, the whole theme of “Birthday Candles” dates way before bad cable TV. When she’s betrayed by her husband, the bell tolls to the next year before the audience has had enough time to grasp onto what just happened to our heroine and how she feels.” The action moves so fast that emotional moments pop up out of nowhere, and Ernestine’s responses ring hollow. The rest of the cast, playing multiple roles, all do what they can with their parts, but mostly they are stuck with one-dimensional attributes, and neither they nor director Vivienne Benesch are able bring them fully to life.”Įnterainment Weekly: “If only the play gave Messing time to settle, we might have been allowed to experience more of the actress’ range. Debra Messing generally has too little to work with, only coming into her own as Ernestine herself comes into her own. By necessity or by design, it is incumbent on members of the audience to find a personal connection to the ups and downs of Ernestine’s life. : “Still, much of the play consists of a ticking off of biographical events. And like sugar, it’ll dissolve from your mind after you’ve seen it.”

But the play fails to deliver anything of greater substance - it is just dessert, all sugar. New York Theatre Guide: *** “But as the play progressed, I kept waiting for Birthday Candles to provide me with a greater insight into humanity’s place in the cosmos or even just living. Not even a tacked-on final birthday scene that strains credulity can sour the simple, icing-sweet pleasures of Birthday Candles.” The New York Times: “Debra Messing expounds on the preciousness of life in a production that aspires to convey eloquent whimsy, but too often feels methodically sentimental.”ĭeadline: “Despite whatever missteps, though, Messing and the rest of the cast nicely convey the spectrum of emotions that a life’s sweep encompasses, from happy times to sad (at the reviewed performance, audience sobs and sniffles were as audible as the laughter). Certainly, the icing on the cake is that we survived all the challenges of 2020 (and beyond) to enjoy this scrumptious production.”

Variety: ” This play feels like an offering, a true gift, a lesson on survival and a bold reminder to live each day with zest and adventure.
