←Recommendations of A Long Overdue Talk With Henry

Great monologue about a woman who just can't take it anymore, and finally found the time and place to let all of it out. I loved the ambiguity, and the raw shifts in emotion. So many people never get to say what needs to be said, and this character finally gets a chance to do so, on her own terms.

A darkly comic and inventive monologue, A Long Overdue Talk With Henry brilliantly balances grief, absurdity, and catharsis. John Busser crafts a vivid, engaging voice in Gayle, whose sharp humor and raw honesty drive the piece. The premise is wildly original yet emotionally grounded, building to a satisfying, ironic payoff. A bold, memorable work that is both hilarious and unexpectedly poignant.

With a mystery under a bucket as a story concept and physical comedy from the start that hooks us, Busser explores one woman's mourning and grief with a rich emotional experience that's surprisngly relatable. Good theatre should surprise us with an empathetic experience. I just read it. Even better watching it with a live audience.

Brilliantly funny, perfectly dark, yet with a hint of sadness. But Gayle is a tough lady, one minute she's telling her tale of her recently deseased husband, the next she's screaming like a banshee, swearing like a trouper and playing splat the rat.
This would be so much fun for an actor to take on!

From lights up and the description of Gayle, her ladle, and an upside down bucket, you know you’re in the strange and wonderful world of John Busser’s imagination! And when Gayle, alternating between sweet hostess and distressed widow, asks what we think is under the bucket, I was ready to believe the worst. So many laugh out loud moments between the terrific lines (“…still had egg on his face, but only metaphorically”) and the extreme physical comedy. And still there is sympathy for Gayle. In the end, I’m glad she has a friend like Henry. Well done!

The late Henry gets his comeuppance in Gayle's darkly comic explosion of grief and pent-up rage. Gayle's anger is sympathetic, if carried to extremes, and her resolution is disturbingly satisfying.

John Busser's brain should be preserved and studied in future generations for the brilliance it possesses. The sheer imagination of this piece takes my breath away. Hysterically funny and also profound. As a recent widow of almost two years, I related to so much of this piece (well, not the bucket, but...) Busser has so perfectly captured widow's fog and widow's rage. The juxtapositions between the sweet presentational dialogue and the bucket shenanigans is worth the price of a ticket alone. Read it and please produce this!!

This is A piece that creates a curve of a smile as you watch as long suffering Gayle drifts from polite hostess telling a story to manic woman at her wits end. The personality shifts as well as the seamless back and forth between these two sides of her personality is brilliantly done and would be a great monologue for any actress to perform!

A wonderfully, darkly comic monologue that skillfully combines funny and sad and keeps us at the edge of our seats wondering what exactly is under that bucket. Terrific!

The levels of comedy an actress will get to show through this fabulously hilarious monologue are endless! What a gift of a script this is! Physical comedy mixed with witty speech will have audiences rolling, and the character is in a very relatable situation. Well done, Busser, once again! Thank you for writing such fun roles for women!