“Presiding over all the action is the thoughtful, sometimes quite humorous presence of Ganesha (Gary Mahmoud), the elephant-headed Indian god of beginnings and obstacles, and patron of the arts and sciences. Mahmoud also plays several other roles — a Japanese woman, a Hindu maid. He easily slips into these personas.”
“Just as important is the fact that every person Katharine and Margaret encounter (played by Gary Mahmoud and C.K. Allen in multiple roles) is similarly well-defined. From a harried yet wonderfully humorous airline clerk, to two gay men in India (both in different stages of AIDS), to a fellow tourist on a train, to a leper on the streets of India, all come across as fully three-dimensional, with each encounter adding additional depth to the play and allowing the women to continue to grow in the audience’s eyes. The play is narrated by Ganesha (Mahmoud), who adds several important plot points to the story but whose comments never interfere with the narrative flow.”
“Allen and Mahmoud are both wonderful and believable in their various roles, projecting such emotions as pain, fear, morality, humor, wisdom and just trying to get through the day-as the various situations call for it.”
“The production values mar what are otherwise some excellent performances. In particular, Mahmoud, who maintains his Ganesha mentality through multiple characters, commands the stage with his voice, his pinpoint-precise facial expressions, and a confidence that never drops despite all obstacles.”
“As Tony Wendice, Gary Lee Mahmoud is smooth and arrogant, moving about with an athlete's grace, befitting his character's profession.”
-Michael Toscano, The Washington Post
“Nick Cristano (played by Gary Lee Mahmoud) is a young man facing a life-altering decision. A major job promotion requires a move across the country from Hoboken, N.J., and two sets of doting grandparents with whom he is close. Cristano's parents and sister previously moved away, leaving Nick the focus of the older people's attention. Mahmoud blends exasperation and warmth nicely; Nick's chafing under his family's attention never gets grating.”
-Michael Toscano, The Washington Post
“This is a challenging work, both for the four actors (Gary Lee Mahmoud effectively plays both a disgruntled Hogan son who abandons the farm early on and a rich neighbor who fails to exert his will on the Hogans later on) and the audience. It requires work for the viewer to remain focused, to see the people behind the masks created by the torrent of words. But it delivers rich rewards to those who pay close attention and get a glimpse into the human heart.”
-Michael Toscano, The Washington Post
Over the River and Through the Woods
“Mahmoud delivers a highly comic performance that almost steals the show.”
“Ryan Lee and Ana Grosse bring a twisted delight to the roles, their pointed barbs hanging in the air as they sip their vodka on the rocks. And as Danielle's lover caught in the middle, Gary Lee Mahmoud makes the conflict more fun, desperately searching for a way out of the line of fire but ultimately entering the fray himself.”
