"A Bright New Talent in Trotsky"

by R.K. Winmer

The piece was David Ives' Variations on the Death of Trotsky. The actor was Nick Nobel, of McBride Brother fame. I was the critic... and I was amazed. This performance was a real "tour-de-force" and I enjoyed it a great deal. Nobel portrayed in this one-man show historical figure Leon Trotsky, his wife, and Ramon Mercadur (Trotsky's killer). The characters were all portrayed well and enjoyable. The different variations were extremely funny. I feel as I am a critic, I should find some detail that could be improved. However in my mind, the final test is that I forget that this is a performance and I am carried away to the time and place of the story. Nobel's performance accomplished this in full. Thanks for the trip!

STAR RATING: ***** (out of five)