Review: THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF AMERICA (ABRIDGED) at DreamWrights

DreamWrights’ first show of the 2024 Season is “The Complete History of America (Abridged).”  A perfect start to their theme this year of America.   This comedy is on stage for a short period of time from February 1st-4th under the direction of Gregory DeCandia.  In 1993, Adam Long, Reed Martin, and Austin Tichenor wrote “The Complete History of America (Abridged)’ and covered roughly 600 years of history in a 90 minute play.  It was the second play of 10 total plays written for the American touring company, Reduced Shakespeare Company.

This talented ensemble cast includes Timothy Bonnes, Lukas Donagher, Rico Feliciano, David Feuerstein, Anna Fraser, Sarah Garber, Rio Gonzalez, Quinton Laughman, Adam McCallister, and Jason Zimmerman.  Playing themselves with a minimal set design, the actors utilized an improv-style that was packed with pop culture references to takes us through the big moments in history.  I was especially impressed with their use of impersonations, accents, and physical comedy.  They kept the show going at a fast clip, and I was feeling out of breath right a long with them.  Comedy is hard physical work!