Bill Bowers-All Over the Map-Review by Jen Bush

Once upon a time, there was a mime.  That would be a great alternate title to Bill Bower’s show because he is, indeed, a storytelling mime.  Within moments of seeing his show though, it’s pretty evident that this artist’s talents go way beyond miming and storytelling.  Bill Bowers is a multitalented performer who can act and can ease in and out of male and female accents to accent-utate a story.

Out of the gate, the show was strong.  Bill Bowers jumped right into the first story.  There was no exchange of pleasantries and no exposition.  There was just narrative and good narrative at that.  Chairs were widely utilized as props and some audio-visual material served as enhancements to some of the stories.

If you are expecting to see 60 minutes of mime, you’ll be disappointed.  That’s not what this evening was about.  Your craving for mime, if you have one, will be satiated on a small but tender scale with a beautiful moonlight mime sequence that will tug at your heartstrings.

You’ll be regaled with tales of talented rabbits, nudists, the Amish, The Happy Hooker and more.  If you feel the tales are too outlandish to be true, the ending of the show will provide definitive proof that they are absolutely true and very outlandish.

We think of mimes as mysterious elusive people, but Bill Bowers was transparent, genuine and wore his heart on his sleeve.  Each story he told held consistent interest and had clever endings.  There was plenty of energy, humor, passion and exuberance to go around.  If you find yourself trapped in an invisible box, get out for one night to see this wonderful show.