In the Press
“Our piece begins on Brendan Yungert’s wonderfully confined set, which blurs the line between ‘prison cell’ and ‘cheap apartment.’”
“Our first nameless character, You (Farrah Hamzeh) flirts with us, scorns us, and recounts to us the agony and ecstasy of their greatest love: the self-compromise; the hypocrisy; the comfort; the stability. It all rings true to everyone who’s ever opened their heart to someone else.”
“…the action remains captivating…”
– Drama Masks: The fight is just beginning, Charles Lewis III, 48hills, April 30, 2025
“…a Crowded Fire Theater West Coast premiere that showcases the talents of actors and director.”
“Performer Farrah Hamzeh approaches the role with impressive variety: She teases, confronts, rages, goes deep inside.”
“…dancing, pleading, screaming and basically expressing every single emotion known to humankind, [Gabriele] Christian is impressively varied and vulnerable in the role…”
“the excellent acting… and Nailah Harper-Malveaux’s meticulous, detailed direction, it’s easy to admire the production…”
– Emotions overflow in Crowded Fire’s ‘Last of the Love Letters’, Jean Schiffman, Bay City News, April 29, 2025
“…the performers are so committed to their roles and the staging includes many lovely, almost magical moments…”
“…As You, Hamzeh brings an amazing physicality to the role…”
“…the actors give achingly vulnerable performances, and the show succeeds on a technical/artistic level–excellent lighting by Spense Matubang, and costumes by Jasmine Milan Williams…”
“…an excellent, well-acted production of a play…”
– “The Last of the Love Letters – Crowded Fire Theater, Patrick Thomas, Talkin’ Broadway, April 28, 2025
“…bristling with drama…”
“You can’t take your eyes off Hamzeh. Whether acting, dancing, or singing with flair, she radiates Hollywood charisma…”
“Christian brings humor—and compelling rage—to [their] role.”
“Brilliantly, the director and scenic designer use shadows projected from behind a scrim to bring to life the thoughts of the character You No. 2. It’s a poignant moment in a drama filled with unexpectant insights on intimacy. “The Last of the Love Letters” will please theatergoers who resonate with genderqueer relationships, and those who like reflecting deeply on passion and romance.”
– “Last of the Love Letters” Explores Aftermath of Great Passion—at Crowded Fire, Zack Rogow, Theatrius, April 28, 2025
“[Love Letters] got its start as a monologue for the beloved actor Pedro Pascal… During the pandemic, Anyanwu participated in 24 Hour Plays, where playwrights got a prompt from an actor… “He sent me a video saying, ‘I’m Pedro Pascal, and my prop is this The Motherfucker with the Hat playbill, and I’ve never played insane,’” Anyanwu said. “That was the initial prompt that the piece came from.”
“[As] COVID raged, Anyanwu says she was talking to her art form, not another person. “When I wrote this, I was like, ‘We’re never going to leave the house again.’ And theater had died a little bit and I wondered, ‘am I ever going make anything ever again?’” she said. “My great love is theater. That’s the thing that frustrates me and annoys me, and I want to break up with, but I’m in too deep.”
– From a Pedro Pascal prompt, ‘The Last of the Love Letters’, Emily Wilson, 48 hills, April 23, 2025
“Sociopolitical constriction, [Ngozi] Anyanwu suggests, can make artists feel as cut off as a quarantine. And in the current moment, that can especially true for queer artists like director Naila Harper-Malveaux and the gender-expansive cast of the Crowded Fire production.”
“The blast-force 75-minute performance sets their monologues in opposition, then tangles them. It hits with the blended wallop of Kafka, Orwell, and Ntozake Shange. But with Anyanwu’s lyrical dialogue and dystopian setting, she challenges audiences to think of this couple less literally. Not as he/she or they/they, but as artist/art.”
– Ngozi Anyanwu’s ‘The Last of the Love Letters’ at Z Space, Jim Gladstone, Bay Area Reporter, April 22, 2025
“If you’ve been in a long-term relationship, you’ll recognize some of the uncomfortable dynamics Ngozi Anyanwu describes with surgical precision in Crowded Fire Theater’s production.”
– ‘The selfies of an SS officer’ tops this promising 2025 theater lineup, Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle Datebook, December 26, 2024
