←Recommendations of NELL DASH, The Gruesomely Merry Adventures Of An Irrepressibly Sensible Capitalist With A Vengeance

A delightfully entertaining romp through 19th century literature, but with a story that stands on its own. Playwright DeVita knows his characters to not only drop hilarious references, but also to treat them as people with goals, wants, desires, and motivations. If the stories he gathers were a cinematic universe, this would be The Avengers.

Am I allowed to swear on here? Because damn this play is the most fucking fun I've ever had directing! It's ridiculous and genius. You must must must do this play if you like having fun while also feeling really well read.

A deliciously gruesome Victorian tale in the penny dreadful tradition with a true rogues’ gallery of some of our favorite heroes and villains from period literature. To give specifics would ruin some of the delightful cameos, but all of these characters are rendered so perfectly and integrated so well into this brisk narrative that they seem to be DeVita’s own inventions. Multiple exquisitely constructed twists and turns are well suited for the genre. Underlying it all is an appropriately Brechtian critique of capitalist striving and excess. Propulsive and brilliant!

My eyes are crossed from all the antics in this piece. And that's a wonderful thing. A fantastic mix of high and low brow humor. A comedy of mis-manners.

This is what happens when Monty Python's Flying Circus and the Marx Brothers team up with the company putting on "Noises Off" and decide to do up some real English-flavored theatre. Nothing is left to chance, so brace yourself for Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, the Bronte brood, The Beggars' Opera, penny-dreadfuls, Sweeney Todd, and references to all of them and beyond. It's a madcap overflowing treacle tart of confection and affection for this grand dame of questionable morals and origins and just bloody fun. You will savor every morsel, but leave some pearls for the dog.

Nell Dash is a Victorian hoot, a wonderfully witty mash-up of Sweeny Todd, the Beggar's Opera, and the full panoply of Dickensian characters. The scene titles are The best of all. In fact I think this play would best be done as a radio piece, and I'd love to run the sound effects table. Bravo Mr DeVita. I've spent the past few days reading your work and having so much fun.

Dear Theater Producer, Is your audience thoroughly steeped up their eyeballs in NICHOLAS NICKLEBY, OLIVER TWIST, GREAT EXPECTATIONS, SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, SWEENEY TODD and THE BEGGAR'S OPERA?Maybe TOO steeped in all those mysterious legacies, substitutions at birth, and colorful downstairs characters? Do you have a company of actors that would like to cut loose and show what they can do at full throttle? NELL DASH is not a sketch - it's a full-blown play with rich characters and a plot that twists into a merry rickrack of complications, miraculously and justly resolved at the end. Produce this play!

A wild romp through 1820 London that gleefully, yet lovingly, satirizes the convolutions, coincidences, and contrivances of 19th-century novels (specifically those of Charles Dickens and Jane Austen). With whiplash dialogue that would be a blast for any actor to deliver, and a fast-paced plot that allows for some great staging opportunities, "Nell Dash" is a treat for anyone who has ever loved a 19th century novel (or musicals about murderous men set in Victorian England...).

This is a bookworm’s dream! So many allusions to famous works, paired with witty comedy and well-written characters makes Nell Dash an memorable piece. Seek this one out, DeVita’s concept is immaculately difficult, but was executed with precision and perfection. Not a single detail was unaccounted for.

A delightful mashup of all your favorite 19th century characters in one play! The dialog is sparkling and the plot dances along. It would be a really fun Halloween offering in any theater's season. (And especially great for theaters looking for large casts.)