Review: DESTROYING DAVID at Circle Theatre, Fort Worth

Saturday night was the opening of Circle Theater’s 44th season and the world premiere of Jason Odell Williams’ Destroying David. To answer your question: Yes, you should see it. Destroying David is a triumph for Jason Odell Williams, Amanda Reyes, Evan Michael Woods, and Circle Theater. Destroying David is mesmerizing from start to finish. 

Jason Odell Williams’ conceit for Destroying David is that we the audience have been chosen for an exclusive viewing of The David by Michelangelo at Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze. The character YOU is our tour guide and expert. Amanda Reyes is radiant as YOU. Reyes bounces onto the stage like an Art History version of Ms. Frizzle and immediately gains our trust. She promises to take us on a journey of knowledge and learning about The David - and herself. YOU calls on the audience for participation during our tour. This serves the dual purpose of adding an interactive element to the show and bringing the audience into YOU’s confidence. Throughout the play, we learn how both The David and YOU came to be standing in that exact spot of Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze. We absorb the histories of one woman and one statue of a man. YOU began her journey as a gap year student transfixed by The David, and The David began its journey as a discarded mass of stone. 

Amanda Reyes delivers a performance with acrobatic precision leaping from each vignette to the next with complete control of the stage and the audience. Reyes is a skilled actor who can deliver complex emotions, accents, physical comedy, and keep an audience's rapt attention solo. Reyes fills the stage with an unwavering performance. The exceptional direction by Evan Michael Woods breaks the play subtly into pieces allowing the audience a breath to take in the changing concepts and emotions. The direction keeps us on our toes. One moment Reyes is gleefully rolling across the stage on a chair and moments later she is full of conflicted feelings leading the audience closer to her dilemma. Lighting, a sparse set, and a small number of props were deftly chosen to support Reyes and the play. 

80 minutes with one actor alone on stage in an era of attention spans shortened to 10-second videos may raise eyebrows. However, the artwork the play references has been standing still and captivating crowds for five centuries. Destroying David is brilliant and beautifully layered. This is a work of art about a work of art. We watch one person, YOU, interact with and react to an artwork, The David, while we interact with the character YOU, and react to Destroying David. Jason Odell Williams turns the statue of The David into a metaphor for life itself, being beautiful even when it is flawed and fragile. YOU’s feelings about life influence her feelings about art and the reverse. Destroying David reminds the audience art and life are experienced by the masses, yet each of our experiences is unique and individual. Art can bring us great joy. It also allows us to explore our most personal emotions. Williams created a play that explores our need for art, and Destroying David needs to be seen. 

JANUARY 30 - FEBRUARY 22, 2025

Regular Show Days + Times

Thursdays | 7:30 pm

Fridays | 8:00 pm

Saturdays | 3:00 pm + 8:00 pm

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