People can't get enough of Loveswell! Loveswell so touched people's lives that they honored the show with standing ovations and returned again and again, bringing new friends and family to experience this hilariously thoughtful uplifting story.
"Recommended!!" (Read Full Review Below)
"I recommend this show. Full of funny monologues with poignant moments...hilarious scenes...in this terrific portrayal of love and marriage.
--Elizabeth Lopez, ReviewPlays.com
"Loveswell is such a wonderful little discovery to find in the middle of Hollywood. A show with deep heart and soul, and many, many laugh out loud moments.
Its billed as being about surfing, and it does honor the sport in such a way that it compels you to want to get out and surf the first chance you have. But mostly it is a deeply touching, and extraordinarily forethcoming lovestory. I have been thinking about Loveswell all day. I just found the show to be SO powerful, so full of heart, and HILARIOUS on top of it all!!!! Both John's writing and performance were pure perfection."
- Tracy Thorpe, Actress, Second City Alum
"Loveswell is unquestionably the very best one man show I have ever seen. Its a fiercly brave, beautiful and honest portrayal of true love from the point of view of a hopeless romantic. I found the writing and acting to be incredibly moving and poignant and the parallels between my marriage and the play astounded me. I have a new found appreciation for my husband and I am inspired and awe-stuck by John Fortson's flawless and authentic acting skills".
- Katie Mack
"Actor-writer John Fortson possesses that rare combination of vulnerability
and humor. A handsome, surfer jock with an innocent heart and an undying
love for his tempestuous wife, he glides from hysterical mimicry to
heartbreaking revelation in a moment. His show really is like riding an
endless wave. You won't realize you've traveled such a distance with him
until the lights go out. Bravo!"
-- Susan Isaacs, Actor/Writer, Angry Conversations With God
"Loveswell was really amazing!!! John was beyond honest and we could totally relate to everything he was talking about...that's what made it so good, it was so real!"
- Amanda Paul
"Smart and funny!!"
- Mark Fox
"John Fortson & Loveswell knocked my socks off!!"
-Herb Karp, Life Management
"If everyone was this honest, the world would be a better place to live in."
- Anita Rich
"Loveswell nearly knocked me out of my seat...laughing and crying and very very touched. The play was wonderful and I'm recommending it to friends."
- Marian Silverman
- Grace Lewitt
- Rob Pearlstein, Oscar Nominated Director(Our Time Is Up)
- Kurt Haas, Director
"It was so wonderful seeing Loveswell! - I've sent emails- hope to be sending people. I just thought it was tremendous. John is such a great actor- and a great one to watch. Authentic, generous with us. committed."
- M.A.
"My husband Adam and I really enjoyed the show. We were completely impressed by John's talent."
- Maria Stanton Chester
"I am stoked on LOVESWELL; a terrific one-man show at the Hudson Theater about love and relationships through the perspective of a surfer/actor. Funny, really well-written, wonderfully acted, poignant and thoroughly entertaining. I highly, HIGHLY recommend it."
- Josh Daugherty, Actor/Producer
"John - I saw your show days ago - and I can't stop thinking about it! Different parts keep coming up in my mind - it was, truly, an inspriational piece of theater. Thank you!"
- Lynn Jordan, Producer
"I want to go home and give my husband a hug!"
- Theatre Goer
"My wife came home after seeing Loveswell and started hugging and loving on me. I told her she could go see Loveswell every night!"
- Jonathan Dane
"What a fabulous play and an amazing actor you are! I am blown away by your refreshing honesty and openness and just YOU."
- Lizzie Maxwell, Producer/Director
"Saw it last weekend - it was really fun!"
- Sharon Smith Holly
"The show was incredible. We talked about it on the way home and this morning! Thank you."
- Janey Eisner
- Jeroen Vahrmeijer
"Really beautiful work..."
- Tish Hicks
"I was so touched...What honesty...Incredibly raw and compelling...made me laugh and cry!"
- Morgan Mead
- Max Stefanelli
"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
"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, theatre attendee
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
"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
"...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
"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, but it is his interactions with Christie, the woman he loves, that are at the core of this story. 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.
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
-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
