I Loved Sam Stone, premiered Oct 6th at The Tank, 151 W 46th street, 8th floor. The character of Ben, played by Brett Epstein who both wrote and produced the play, enters college and falls in love with his roommate, Sam Stone, played by David Jackson. Sam Stone in turn falls for Jordan, a college co-ed, played by Blair Carson. David Rosenblatt plays Derrick, whose unrequited love of Ben, completes the tawdry affair.
Delivering a powerful performance, Brett Epstein demonstrates spot on accurate comedic timing and a youthful enthusiasm that easily translates into theatrical, kinetic energy. He is fun to watch and very entertaining. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of David Jackson who played the second lead, Sam Stone. His performance landed flat on the stage from the start and moved very little until late in the second act, during “the kiss.” Blaire Carson was believable as Jordan, Sam Stone’s love interest, and it was unfortunate that her character didn’t seem to have enough time to develop more fully. Derrick was played by David Rosenblatt whose character was largely unremarkable.
I Loved Sam Stone delivers laughs a plenty with its light hearted approach to very serious social issues of our day. It’s definitely worth a go-see, and for the almost unheard of price of $18, you land yourself in a small but cozy theater in New York’s Broadway theater district.
