←Recommendations of Heart Stop or, The Obesity Play

Few words can adequately express what watching Franky perform the solo version of this show was like. While I haven't seen this retooled version, the new draft reads nimbly, with devastating results; not unlike the howling twister that threatens everything he holds dear.

When the storm passes, all that's left is the man in the mirror, and there's got to be some way to make peace with that hard-headed son-of-a-bitch.

"I Love You, Franky."

I was so lucky to see Franky Gonzalez perform his latest solo piece at The Workshop Theater. Franky has written another gut-wrenching and beautiful autobiographical piece that is so incredibly vulnerable, honest, and raw...like human flesh. In this piece, Franky shares openly his struggles with food and self-worth. The disparity between the wonderful Franky the audience sees and the Franky he sees in the mirror couldn't be more extreme and makes you root for him even harder. The ending had the entire audience in tears. Thank you, Franky, for sharing your space with us.

If you're already a fan of Gonzalez's work, this piece is another "must-read". It is a deeply personal and difficult piece of theatre that feels alive and necessary in the way very few plays do. The moments of levity are hilarious, and the final section is downright unforgettable. I teared up reading it, and I imagine many other readers will too.

Franky has a gift for pouring a piece of his heart into every piece he writes. This play has the whole thing. As someone who has struggled with weight and food, this play speaks to me, my fears, hopes, and dreams of coming to terms with acceptance of oneself. Most people would run away from tackling something so raw, bloody and messy, but Franky faces it with such honesty and bravery that it was impossible to not feel inspired. I don’t want to tell you much because, this is a play you need to read, and pretty soon experience.

This is a raw, emotional and theatrical one person show. I enjoyed the meta questions at the top and then how Gonzalez delivered. The exercise at the end was hard, breathtaking and tender. I can imagine how that moment on stage will cut to the core. The very end, and journey to it, brought me to tears.

An honest and unflinching exploration of mental health, therapy, and the bodily impact of major depression on one's physical, physiological, and emotional beings. Franky manages to capture such potent and wide reaching themes while telling this unique and specific and personal story. One of the things I find most compelling about it is how he illuminates and theatricalizes therapy in a way that is genuine and eschews any tropes of "dramatized therapy" one finds in media depictions of it. This piece should be produced far and wide and will be helpful for many people--myself included.

It’s natural for artists to want to keep certain parts of themselves off the stage, off the page. But Franky D. Gonzalez does not hold back. His mental health struggles, his trials and tribulations, are all laid bare on these pages. In Heart Stop or, The Obesity Play Franky generously shares so much of himself.

HEART STOP OR, THE OBESITY PLAY is a brutal and emotional and deeply personal journey through the experiences of living in a large body. From very honest exploration of the connection between depression and weight gain, to the first hand experiences of fatphobia to the absolutely affirming final lines, Franky D. Gonzalez crafts a solo play that demands to be seen, and will not be overlooked or dismissed. This play is immediate and connects to its audience in real time.

Thank you, Franky, for this play.

It's easy to love this show for its heart and honesty and emotional resonance. But don't overlook what a smart and gifted craftsman Franky is. The story is ingeniously and unshakably structured. And while some one-person shows can threaten to slide into an inert wall of prose, this is indisputably and fundamentally theatrical; it's propulsively written for three dimensions in real time, building the audience's presence and reactions into its rhythms and dynamics. Plus, it's relentlessly hilarious when it isn't being heart-rending -- and sometimes even when it is.

Time and again, Gonzalez puts his entire heart upon the page and the stage, and HEART STOP is absolutely no exception. Self-examination? Gonzalez gives us BLOOD. This is raw, and brilliant, and raw, and demonstrates why he is one of the most vibrant voices working in theatre today.
As much pain and self-recrimination as Gonzalez shares, each word comes laced with love - for his family, for his craft, for audiences fortunate to see this work in progress unfold before our very eyes. May we all prove equal to the exquisite privilege as he bares his very soul to us.