.............Critics Reactions
.............
“We’d like to congratulate Jim Jarrett on his outstanding and accurate portrayal of Mr. Sanford Meisner. His play is everything Sandy stood for and we support his production wholeheartedly!”
Bob Carnegie/Jeff Goldblum ... Co-Founders of The Playhouse West
____________________________________
“****A MUST SEE!" (San Francisco Chronicle)
"INCREDIBLE! TOTALLY ENGROSSING! AN ABSOLUTE MUST-SEE!” (Seán Martinfield, SF Sentinel)
“INSPIRATIONAL!” (Annette Lust, BACC)
“BRILLIANT! STUNNING! A TOUR DE FORCE! (Academy-Award Winning Director Mark Rydell)
“GREAT ACTING! … A MASTER CLASS IN MEISNER’S TECHNIQUES!" (Chad Jones, ANG Newspapers)
“A FANTASTIC EVENING OF THEATER!” (Bradley Horowitz’s “Elatable” blog)
“INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO TAKEN TO THE NEXT LEVEL!” (Nathaniel Eaton, SF Weekly)
“STUNNING! JARRETT IS MESMORIZING!” (Michael Rice, Cool as Hell Theater)
“FABULOUS!” (Mario Echevarria, SF Tribune, Bay Area Critics Circle)
“A MUST-SEE! And not just for actors but for any lover of theater" (Brad Erickson, Theater Bay Area)
____________________________________
Chad Jones, ANG NEWSPAPERS
“Jarrett’s show is what constitutes real acting … that rare occurrence of great acting…a master class in Meisner’s technique.”
____________________________________
Seán Martinfield - sanfranciscosentinel.com
"Every moment of its fleeting 2 hours and 15 minutes is packed, precious and memorable…. Jim Jarrett is an actor's actor and an amazing playwright. He walks the walk and talks the talk…This is a rare opportunity…make every effort to see this show!”
____________________________________
Sam Hurwitt, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
“A MUST SEE!. Jarrett aims to acquaint you with the work of his mentor, an acting teacher whose students included Grace Kelly, Gregory Peck, James Woods, Diane Keaton, Eli Wallach, Susan Sarandon, David Mamet, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert Duvall”
____________________________________
Nathaniel Eaton, SF WEEKLY
“A beguiling multilayered show. Jarrett channels his teacher with deft precision…captivating and confrontational. Jarrett’s presence and charisma is what constitutes real talent. He command your attention.”
____________________________________
Anne Lust, Bay Area Critics Circle ... OAKLAND TRIBUNE
"The strength of this play on acting is the inspirational motivation that Jarrett communicates through a kind of channeling of his former master, Sanford Meisner, who has influenced many of our finest actors. In fact, MEISNER’S message on the values one should adopt in acting may also apply to other arts and domains. Not only actors but stage directors, writers as well as artists and individuals in other occupations leave inspired to bring out the light inside of themselves through a truthful search for authenticity rather than by superficial values of commercial or immediate success."
____________________________________
Mario Echevarra Bay Area Critics Circle ... SF TRIBUNE
MEISNER is a performance by the talented actor, director and playwright Jim Jarrett who stages some of the lessons given by his theatrical mentor, Sanford Meisner ... Jarrett is fabulous in his interpretation of legendary acting teacher Sanford Meisner and his play gives us not only the intellect, but also the spirit of the great professor.
What we see on the stage is a strict teacher who detested the absence of enthusiasm for what he considered a sacred craft: becoming an actor. Jarrett's performance is impressive, all-in-all a magnificent solo presentation. It delights from the beginning to the end of its two-and-a-half hour running time.
Arthur Miller said of Meisner “whenever I read new actors I can easily pick out those who have studied with Sanford. His actors are honest, real, simple and they are not acting. In other words, I believe them. There is no better praise that an actor can receive.”
As he is portrayed in MEISNER, the master teacher could be brutal in his critiques. However, his motivation was always to find the truth in his acting students. MEISNER is a dynamic, rapid-fire and philosophical look at Meisner as portrayed by Jarrett.
Jim Jarrett spent four years as Meisner's student and at the end of his studies received many offers to act in TV/radio commercials and movies. What came along, however, was an opportunity to work on Leonard Nimoy's ( of Star Trek fame) one-man play Vincent about the life of painter Vincent Van Gogh. Since then, Jarrett has been performing Vincent to sold-out audiences around the world.