A Review by Suzanne Birrell
All American Girl written by Wendy Graf, produced by InterACT Theatre Company and now playing at the Lounge Theatre is a must see.
All American Girl is a brilliant script flawlessly acted.
I tell you that before I tell you that I don't usually attend solo performances - just the thought of sitting though a 15 minute solo makes me cringe. So to imagine sitting through an hour and 15 minutes - Ouch. I thought I was doing persistent Publicist Lucy Pollak a favor by going to see All American Girl; turns out she did me the favor.
All American Girl follows the journey of little girl Katie from suburbia to her grown up woman decision to make statement by planting a bomb. We are pulled instantly into that story because it starts with the planting of a bomb. We see right away that Katie doesn't want to hurt anybody so why is she doing it?
The story wanders through inciting incidents of the life of Katie. Actress Jeanne Syquia was simply brilliant in the role - or actually roles. She frequently became the characters she was talking to. Dialect Coach Adam Michael Rose is to be commended on the subtle differences. We always knew who was talking. That and the subtle changes in posture. Jeanne was able to go from exuberant child, to a teenager coerced into a lie, to falling in love, to experiencing abuse, to a woman moaning the violent death of children, to radicalized extremist; and all along the journey she held a mesmerized audience in tow. 
Anita Khanzadian skillfully directed this solo performance, a tapestry of many colors and textures. Joel Daavid created an effectively attractive while functional set design. The intimate black box Lounge Theatre was the perfect venue.
All American Girl is a daring and intelligent piece. It stimulates conversation. It is art at its finest. The audience seemed loath to leave at the end of the evening. Many stood around and thoughtfully discussed questions raised by the performance.
A demanding role, the performance on alternating nights stars Annika Marks and Jeanne Syquia.
All American Girl is showing Tuesday thru Sundays thru July 26 at the
The Lounge Theatre
6201 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1587127
