Ato Essandoh has been receiving raves for his performance in David Rabe’s Streamers at the Roundabout (running through January 11). His dramatic writing is also included in One on One: The Best Men’s Monologues for the 21st Century and the upcoming Duo! The Best Scenes for Two for the 21st Century—both from Applause Theatre & Cinema Books.
“Carlyle, [is] a volatile man with a fierce temper. He’s the play’s catalyst for trouble and in Ato Essandoh’s fierce, genuinely unnerving portrait, Carlyle is an explosion waiting to happen.”–Michael Kuchwara, AP
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081112/ap_en_re/theater_review_streamers_1
http://bbbblogger.wordpress.com/2008/11/12/streamers-reviewed-by-ap/
"Ato Essandoh is terrifying as Carlyle, the mentally unstable outsider whose jealousy of the other men is manifested in his provocative sexual behavior with Richie."–Simon Saltzman, Curtainup
http://www.curtainup.com/streamers.html
“As Essandoh superbly plays him, Carlyle is all danger and desperation. At one point, making machine-gun sounds, he slithers drunkenly into the barracks, bringing with him all the primal fears that the homey little cadre room is pitched against.”– John Lahr, The New Yorker
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2008/11/24/081124crbo_books_lahr
“As played with quiet ferocity by Mr. Essandoh, Carlyle burns with a rage whose roots go deeper than his belittling treatment on the base.”–Charles Isherwood, The New York Times
http://theater2.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/theater/reviews/12stre.html
“Carlyle is depicted with forceful complexity by Ato Essandoh.”–Bryan Clark, Show Business
http://www.showbusinessweekly.com/archive/515/the_streamers.shtml
“Into this stew of simmering relationships bursts Carlyle (Ato Essendoh), a jive-talking operator on permanent KP duty. Representing the lowest stratum of Army life — and whatever past put him there — Carlyle is lonely or crazy or both. And as played by Essandoh, he's as mesmerizing as a writhing serpent.”– Sandy MacDonald, Theatermania
http://www.theatermania.com/content/news.cfm/story/12090
“Essandoh as volatile Carlyle, lurch[es] between inarticulate rage, suspicion, willful troublemaking and the odd, almost visionary ramblings of a madman.” – David Rooney, Variety
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117938982.html?categoryid=33&cs=1
STREAMERS: The Story:
Four young soldiers fresh from boot camp wait anxiously in 1965 Virginia, watching the Vietnam conflict escalate. Streamers is an unflinching exploration of the turmoil and confusion facing young men threatened by forces beyond their control.
The Roundabout:
Harold and Miriam Steinberg
Center for Theatre
111 West 46th St (6th & 7th Aves)
Ticket Services: 212.719.1300
http://www.roundabouttheatre.org/
Visit Ato Essandoh's Web site: http://www.atoessandoh.com/Home.html