Body of Work

OUT OF SIGHT:
JOYCE COHEN'S SPECTACULAR LEAD PERFORMANCE
ELEVATES PLAN-B THEATRE COMPANY'S
'MOLLY SWEENEY'
(excerpt)
December 7, 2000, Alex Wells, City Weekly

Plan-B Theatre Company's production of 'Molly Sweeney' opens with a single spotlight coming up on a single woman seated in a chair. Thirty seconds later, it's clear that you're in the presence of a truly remarkable example of stage acting.

The woman is Joyce Cohen, and if her performance isn't the finest work you'll see on a   Utah stage this year, it's going to be a banner year for local theater. [Brian] Friel's story is told in a series of monologues by Molly and two key figures in her life: her husband Frank (Richard Scharine), and her doctor, Paddy Rice (Ron Frederickson). The two male cast members do solid work as Molly's benign pseudo-villains.

Director Jerry Rapier makes exceptional use of the technical limitations afforded by the Salt Lake Acting Company's Downstairs Theatre.  'Molly Sweeney' builds a wonderful emotional force. This is theater that hits you in the head and in the gut, theater bigger than the small space in which it is being staged. And one woman's work practically bursts through the ceiling.