Michael Weston and James Roday. Photo by Kurt Boetcher
SWEET
Gabe McKinley’s debuting play takes a perceptive look at the evolution of male friendships, exploring the personal sacrifices that come with maturity and the communication barriers that sometimes cause people to grow apart. Director Wayne Kasserman and actors James Roday and Michael Weston make the most of the sly humor and subtle heartbreak in McKinley’s intelligent work, enhanced by fine supporting turns from Amanda Detmer and Stefanie E. Frame.
Les Spindle – Backstage
SWEET
Those familiar with Roday’s gonzo character on television’s “Psych” will find his quietly provocative performance a revelation. All coke-fueled jitters and cynicism, Michael Weston’s Max excites nervous laughter with his viciously reductive views of women – but the really scary thing is that his argument is so cogent. That’s the savage twist that makes “Extinction” uniquely unsettling.
F. Kathleen Foley – LA Times
SWEET
Detmer and Frame play sympathetic characters caught up in the twist and turns of the virulent Max against the regretful Finn. On one hand, Max goes to Atlantic City to screw women just after his mom’s death. On the other, Finn phones his wife regarding the money problem, and tries to shield her away from Max, who has never lied to him. The two diametrically opposed attitudes collide in attempting to assert its own philosophy. At the end though, one of those ideas of life will become extinct.
Ray Luo – Stagehappenings
SWEET
Extinction is the first production I’ve seen by Red Dog Squadron, and my first Gabe McKinley play. Other than Weston, whose stage work I’ve admired, this is also my introduction to the talented actors on stage. If Extinction is any indication of what I may expect from their future work, it is something to look forward to indeed. Anyone in search of edgy, unexpected, quality theater can do no better than to catch Extinction during its brief run at the Elephant Space. I can guarantee it’s a play you’ll be talking and thinking about long after the final blackout.
Steven Stanley – StageSceneLA
SWEET
McKinley introduces a new species of the male-personified frenemy that might drag his knuckles around but carries a bigger club. Sharp, wry, and gripping, this sophisticated drama exposes the clash between men at varying stages of personal evolution, but the lingering question is which one will survive?
MR Hunter – Stagehappenings
