What Critics and Theatre Goers are saying about Loveswell:

"Recommended!!-It's a great show..."
"Written, performed, and surfed by John Fortson, Loveswell is a one-man show about the ups and downs of a modern-day relationship. With the ocean and surfing as the backdrop, Fortson invites us to navigate “the wave of love” in this terrific portrayal of love and marriage.

Fortson revives people from his past that have impacted his life, such as his care free, beer-drinking mother; his military no-nonsense father, and his loving grandparents. But it’s his interactions with Christie, the woman he loves, that are at the core of this story. We see her through his eyes; beautiful, loving, but refusing to do the dishes. She’s his best friend, his lover, but also the one who challenges him and it is this clashing of personalities that make this relationship passionate and entertaining to watch. Fortson depicts Christie as a whiney, at times self-centered woman who is at the same time, someone who loves him and supports him. We see a man desperately trying to understand the mysteries and challenges of the woman he loves, which ultimately leads him to a path to personal growth.

Overall, it’s a great show full of funny monologues with poignant moments that showcase Fortson’s versatility as an actor. There are hilarious scenes, such as when he is fantasizing about making love to an Australian waitress, as he gyrates on the ground engulfed in an imaginary orgasm, or the scene where he is teaching Christie how to surf where he is firmly, but lovingly instructing her how to stand up on the surfboard. This could be interpreted as the way he is trying to deal with her in the relationship; being firm but gentle, and always being the loving man (and the best man that he can be).

I recommend this show; Loveswell is a wonderful peek into the complexities of a relationship as experienced by a man. I was moved by its honesty and it’s depiction of the realities facing people today when trying to make relationships work."
--Elizabeth Lopez, ReviewPlays.com, October 30, 2005 http://www.reviewplays.com/trumbo.htm


"A MUST! For anyone in a relationship. Everyone will enjoy the wild ride John takes us on. Filled with romance and laughter and an honest look at the challenges with “the battle of the sexes" and the realities of marriage. As a counselor to many couples, I can relate to the challenges couples face, and the hilarious truths, John portrays. I recommend this uplifting and insightful experience to all my clients, friends and family! John's acting and writing is charming, witty and pure genius! The second time I saw it, it just got better!"
--Grace Lewitt


"With his perfect surfer body, John enacts the "joyous, exhilirating dance of surfing. Ably directed by Terrie Silverman..."
--Entertainment Today


Loveswell Rides Romantic Waves
"A comic, zen-like examination of courtship and marriage, John Fortson’s “Loveswell” examines romance through the eyes of a surfer. Fortson is an excellent mimic, capturing the emotional essence of each person... Director Terrie Silverman develops fine pacing that benefits from Fortson's good timing and energy..."
--Tolucan Times


"What you are doing is truly wonderful."
---Ed LaDou


"John Fortson has taken the painful and awkward moments of his marriage and life, and turned them into a story full of hilarity and vulnerability. If he is as he's as graceful onstage as he is on a board, he must be a fantastic surfer. Ms. Silverman's direction has brought out the best of John's emotional and physical life, and she's made great use of sound,lighting and space. Worth the trek!"
--Susan Isaacs, Actor, Writer


"Loveswell is an unexpected delight. Not because I didn't think I'd be entertained, but because John Fortson portrays so vividly--and amusingly-a range of characters--those in his life that he loves best--that I felt I came to know them."
--Mary Fischer (journalist & contributor to Oprah Magazine, GQ and many more)


"It will appeal to anyone who has passion or anyone who is trying to figure out love in their relationship because he embodies all the difficulties, the absurdities and the ironies about his own relationship…intimate, hilarious, thought provoking…”
--Glendale News-Press, Read More by clicking on our wonderful write up below:
www.glendalenewspress.com/entertainment/story/26667p-38306c.html


"...truly impressive.." "John Fortson's solo-performance play "Loveswell" explores a surfer's struggle to balance the demands of his marriage with his love for waves, but what is truly impressive about the play is how honestly and bravely he addresses this material. The typical stereotypes we associate both with surfers and with marriages are thrown out the window. Instead, Fortson insists on 100% authenticity in his approach. The result is an experience that raises all sorts of important questions about love, and even gives us a glimpse of the possibilities Mother Nature offers us in our search for a meaningful life."
--Scott Grusky, SunsetSurf.com


"Loveswell, a solid 10..." "On my own scale of 1 - 10 based upon my own enjoyment, Loveswell was a solid 10. My wife and I have spoken about it since and I still think of moments in it. I loved the multi-dimensional approach you took jumping across feelings, characters, scenes, time, space, etc. I related with, and even learned from, your play, particularly about love, marriage, and the perfect surfer metaphor's application to marriage. I squarely related with the parental issues, the disappointments, and the way you captured it all. It was excellent and funny."
--Robert Sainberg


"Your work is what any woman wants to hear; a man thinking about and struggling with - that is, how can I be the best man I can be and yet also be "her" man, for her? Men have become so afraid to admit they care, like a woman cares, and feel like a woman feels -- maybe even more deeply and vulnerably. Your show lays that out on the line. You challenge the typical idea that a man has to be in charge, armored with detachment (or worse, machismo). You’re this cool man, this surfer dude - a man's man, a natural man; but you're also a woman's man, a poet, an artist - who wants to explore the truth of what it really means to be a man -married, artistic, alive in today's society. Your work is sensitive, moving, deep, and beautifully written. You have patience and poetry in your voice. There is also a determination to really figure out the truth, morally and ethically. Your search for identity, both as a man and as a married man, is rigorously honest."
-Writer/Actress Marni Pomerantz


"John's performance was engaging, refreshing and earnest. The writing was clean, honest and unflinching. The show paints a singular portrait of a man's struggle to define himself within his relationship to his wife admidst the confusing and chaotic shifting of our cultural tides. Apparently, the struggle for identity is not one that anyone can take for granted anymore, not even a straight white guy! John's sincerity and thoughtfulness was touching and inspiring. In the end, he gave me a lot of hope for the men in this town!"
-Wendy Passmore,Theatre goer at a recent perfomance

Past Reviews for my last play, Sebastian and the Tattooed Love Librarian, by Award Winning Playwright, Deborah Neff Nathans.

“The director elicits strong performances, with Fortson particularly empathetic as the frustrated yet ever-patient Freddy.”
–Frontier Magazine


“John Fortson comes across as refreshingly honest and real.”
–Tolucan Times


“The cast is wonderful, just right. John Fortson is perfect as Freddy, presenting a totally natural character that any sane woman would give her eye-teeth for, not because he’s an Adonis, but because he’s intelligent, accepting, persistent and honest.”
–Robert Axelrod-NoHo Arts District Online Magazine


“I really liked John’s portrayal. He was lovely and sweet, I really believed him. He made the shocking choice to play the entire confrontation in the second act with a great deal of tenderness. This made a profound difference in establishing his character and the fact that he does love her. He actually had his arms around her, and he’s holding her as he says these terrible things to her. It was devastating. Devastating. I wish I had thought to go that way in my first production.”
–Playwright Debra Nathans-Publsihed online about my performance in her original play, Sebastian and the Tattooed Love Librarian