Jay Johnson: The Two and Only!

written by: Jay Johnson
Co-created by : Murphy Cross and Paul Kreppel
Directed by: Murphy Cross and Paul Kreppel
Cast: Jay Johnson
Synopsis: Jay Johnson goes on a multi-dimensional journey that combines his skills with a parade of characters that range from a subversive monkey to a withering tennis ball.
 

What the critics had to say.....

CHARLES ISHERWOOD of the NEW YORK TIMES: �Strictly speaking Mr. Johnson is the sole star of this genial if flimsy 90-minute entertainment.�

CLIVE BARNES of the NEW YORK POST: "All in all, this is a surprising, and extremely funny, one-man show that has a character to it and more than a few characters in it."

JOE DZIEMIANOWICZ of NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: says "You expect to laugh during a show about a guy who makes a tennis ball speak - and a monkey curse. But you don't anticipate to well up. You'll do both during "Jay Johnson: The Two and Only!" - an entertaining, if overlong, celebration of ventriloquism,"

MICHAEL SOMMERS of the STAR-LEDGER: "Yet the surrender of disbelief that Johnson evokes with his personable associates reaches out and tickles the child in all of us. It's a real pleasure to spend such quality time with Johnson and his chatty comrades in arms."

ELYSA GARDNER of USA TODAY: "Can a seemingly well-adjusted man find his soul mate in an inanimate object? And can that relationship then fuel a consistently entertaining 90-minute program? The answer to both questions is, improbably, yes.!

ROB KENDT of NEWSDAY says: "Early ventriloquists were both feared and mistrusted for their seeming ability to rouse the dead - or at least to make the dead speak. Jay Johnson, today's preeminent practitioner of this ancient art, tries mightily, if rather meekly, to revive some moribund entertainment traditions."

ROBERT FELDBERG of THE RECORD: "Johnson, though, rates a salute, not only for his ability to make people laugh but as a good-natured crusader for a skill that's also his passion."

FRANK SCHECK of HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: "Johnson is a highly likable performer who is as engaging as he is skilled in his craft. His easygoing presence, and his ability to wrest serious laughs using inanimate objects, should give "The Two and Only!" a chance for a decent Broadway run."

DAVID ROONEY of VARIETY says "Feels more like superior club entertainment than a Broadway vehicle -- a nostalgic nod to a once-popular variety-show staple rather than a convincing claim for its ongoing vitality."

External links to full reviews from newspapers

New York Times
New York Post
New York Daily News
USA Today
NewsDay
The Record
Hollywood Reporter
Variety