jonno

Seattle Fringe Audience Review, Sept 23, 2003

"Sex Violence and the Meaning of life" is one of the bravest and funniest things I've ever seen. It's a work of art!

- Shenoah Allen (Sabotage)

Theatreseattle.com, Sept 20, 2003

This crazy guy named Jonno Katz is out to provide a new creation myth, following the destruction of the world as we know it. A manic theatrical whirlwind from New Zealand, he manages to populate the stage with a whole zoo full of unlikely beings currently residing in his head. A strong connection with the audience and a general likeability allow him the latitude to invent as he goes along. It's all silly and fun and endearing, and rather like an extended recess with the hyperactive kid who downs his Skittles with Mountain Dew. Mr. Katz has huge eyes, and the slightly embarrassed look of a trapeze artist trying to explain why he forgot to catch his partner. Just the sort of guy you want in charge of creation. Still, he manages to juggle his stage-schtick, his semi-realized characters and a wildly veering and semi-comprehensible storyline. After an exhausting stretch of explaining how his heroine (whose name remains inconclusive) travels to Los Angeles handcuffed in a ship full of sheep, it seems perfectly understandable that two men (one of whom is not a duck) would need to extract her new lover's heart in order to satisfy the She-Goddess of creation. The deeply religious intention of this sacred story is sustained only by the somber familiarity of the Carmina Burana. He did hand out some snacks and answer a few questions from the audience, which is about what the last divine creator managed, as well. This is a whole lot of nonsense, but it's also genuinely enjoyable and quite skillfully performed.

- Jerry Kraft

Review Rag, Sept 20th, 2003

Johnathan Katz is here to teach you about "Sex, Violence, and the Meaning of Life" through a fairy tale of sorts involving heroine Emily...er...Alice... (which one is it?) the New Zealand manicurist-cum-deity. Katz calmly explains there was a copywriting fracas involved with Emily's name, so he'll be calling her Alice for the duration
of the show. It won't be the last time you scratch your head during this nutty performance, but that's not a bad thing. Katz spends the next hour or so nodding, mugging, leaping about, sweating profusely, and smiling in that
endearingly bug-eyed big-choppered way of his. The show's timing suffers a bit during the dramatized sequences, but gets back on track when Katz
addresses the audience directly. This piece has the feeling of the beginnings of SOMETHING BIG. Go see Katz work it out now, so when he gets his first HBO special in a few years you can say "I saw him when, and it only cost me 15 bucks!"
Plus, there's cookies.

- Jodi James

Seattle Fringe Audience Review, Sept 23rd, 2003

I probably wouldn't have attended this show if Jonno Katz hadn't stopped by our table at the Fringe Opening Gala. You get a hunch about people, you know?
In the program guide both the included photo and the name "Sex, Violence & The Meaning of Life" shout at you. In the production, there is a lot of shouting but not at the audience. It is simply high theater and good fun. Plus you get cookies.

Jonno creates whole dioramas with a little flour, a partly reversed jersey, a hand and wrist, a couple chairs, a tree branch... he has a great theatrical imagination, a lot of warmth, and a keen sense of what is silly. And if you are a sucker for thoughtful silliness, like I am, and enjoy the quiet poetry of a child's imagination heaped upon your plate in big forkfuls, this is your spot to grace. Very funny. My wife's laughter burped a few uncontrollable snorts, and that's always a good sign.

- Carl Nelson

Seattle Fringe Festival
Seattle Fringe Audience Review, Sept 23, 2003 "Sex Violence and the Meaning of life" is one of the bravest and funniest things I've ever seen. It's a work of art! - Shenoah Allen (Sabotage) Theatreseattle.com, Sept 20, 2003 This crazy guy named Jonno Katz is out to provide a new creation myth, following the destruction of the world as we know it. A manic theatrical whirlwind from New Zealand, he manages to populate the stage with a whole zoo full of unlikely beings currently residing in his head. A strong connection with the audience and a general likeability allow him the latitude to invent as he goes along. It's all silly and fun and endearing, and rather like an extended recess with the hyperactive kid who downs his Skittles with Mountain Dew. Mr. Katz has huge eyes, and the slightly embarrassed look of a trapeze artist trying to explain why he forgot to catch his partner. Just the sort of guy you want in charge of creation. Still, he manages to juggle his stage-schtick, his semi-realized characters and a wildly veering and semi-comprehensible storyline. After an exhausting stretch of explaining how his heroine (whose name remains inconclusive) travels to Los Angeles handcuffed in a ship full of sheep, it seems perfectly understandable that two men (one of whom is not a duck) would need to extract her new lover's heart in order to satisfy the She-Goddess of creation. The deeply religious intention of this sacred story is sustained only by the somber familiarity of the Carmina Burana. He did hand out some snacks and answer a few questions from the audience, which is about what the last divine creator managed, as well. This is a whole lot of nonsense, but it's also genuinely enjoyable and quite skillfully performed. - Jerry Kraft Review Rag, Sept 20th, 2003 Johnathan Katz is here to teach you about "Sex, Violence, and the Meaning of Life" through a fairy tale of sorts involving heroine Emily...er...Alice... (which one is it?) the New Zealand manicurist-cum-deity. Katz calmly explains there was a copywriting fracas involved with Emily's name, so he'll be calling her Alice for the duration of the show. It won't be the last time you scratch your head during this nutty performance, but that's not a bad thing. Katz spends the next hour or so nodding, mugging, leaping about, sweating profusely, and smiling in that endearingly bug-eyed big-choppered way of his. The show's timing suffers a bit during the dramatized sequences, but gets back on track when Katz addresses the audience directly. This piece has the feeling of the beginnings of SOMETHING BIG. Go see Katz work it out now, so when he gets his first HBO special in a few years you can say "I saw him when, and it only cost me 15 bucks!" Plus, there's cookies. - Jodi James Seattle Fringe Audience Review, Sept 23rd, 2003 I probably wouldn't have attended this show if Jonno Katz hadn't stopped by our table at the Fringe Opening Gala. You get a hunch about people, you know? In the program guide both the included photo and the name "Sex, Violence & The Meaning of Life" shout at you. In the production, there is a lot of shouting but not at the audience. It is simply high theater and good fun. Plus you get cookies. Jonno creates whole dioramas with a little flour, a partly reversed jersey, a hand and wrist, a couple chairs, a tree branch... he has a great theatrical imagination, a lot of warmth, and a keen sense of what is silly. And if you are a sucker for thoughtful silliness, like I am, and enjoy the quiet poetry of a child's imagination heaped upon your plate in big forkfuls, this is your spot to grace. Very funny. My wife's laughter burped a few uncontrollable snorts, and that's always a good sign. - Carl Nelson