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TESTIMONIALS

“That’s Not Tango” is an EVENING OF SHIMMERING MUSIC AND PERFORMANCE

Lesley Karsten takes the music and life of Astor Piazzolla and opens it up like Russian dolls, exploring his genius as a musician and composer and his failures as a father, husband, and friend. The show is smart, fizzy, fun, and ultimately very moving in ways that you can't anticipate when you first take your seat.

 

Maria Maggenti, film director and screenwriter (Puccini for Beginners,

The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love)


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A TRULY UNFORGETTABLE AND UPLIFTING EXPERIENCE.

The audience is engaged by eavesdropping on a highly personal, emotionally charged soliloquy delivered by a rapturous Lesley Karsten, embodying Piazzolla ruminating on the landscape of his life. As Piazzolla, she is at once incisive, outraged, humorous, depressed, thoughtful, penetrating

and flirty. With all that, it is the music, the music, the music that makes us remember the folly and the passion we all share.

Alexander Cooper, architect, urban designer, Battery Park,

Times Square and Hudson Yards Redevelopment Project

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THERE'S A NEW MAESTRO IN TOWN!

Along with her four virtuoso musicians, Lesley Karsten inhabits the soul
of composer, Astor Piazzolla,
who forever changed the music of tango.
With narration both humorous and poetic, Karsten takes us on a globe-trotting journey
as this renowned creative genius discovers his own musical influences, his profound human flaws, and the struggles of his successes and his failures.
The music alone would have been worth the price of admission -
but this uniquely uplifting theatrical experience is so much more.
I WAS BLOWN AWAY.

Norman Beil, former General Counsel of the David Geffen Company

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In the pantheon of composers, Astor Piazzolla is not a name known by most. After experiencing

"That's Not Tango", you will wonder why. And an experience it is -- unique and utterly unexpected.

Part biography, part psychological conundrum, part concert – ALL REVELATION. Lesley Karsten's

exploration of the life of Piazzolla leads us deep into the heart of the man and the soul of the creative

process. In a poignant dialogue between music -- and what music! -- and dramatic narrative, "That's

Not Tango" weaves the tale of a man who soared as an artist while failing as a human being.

THIS SHOW IS A WONDER.

A PITCH PERFECT TONE-POEM.

Carla Malden, author
(including: SEARCH HEARTACHE and SHINE UNTIL TOMORROW)

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AN AMAZING EVENING OF STORYTELLING and SIMPLY THRILLING MUSIC.

I came away obsessed with the bandoneon. This is not the accordion we loathed as teenagers growing up in the polka heart of Pittsburgh. Nor is it the sidewalk concertina of dancing monkeys in red fezzes. It is their muscular cousin who, like the strong man at the bottom of a human pyramid, supports the piano and bass and violin.

THE BANDONEON LIFTED THEM ALL TO HEAVEN WHERE PIAZZOLLA WAS WAITING FOR THEM.

 

Abbie Crow Rich
Former senior copywriter and publicist, retired webmaster,

and grandmother of four

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I HAVE SEEN THIS SHOW 3 TIMES AND WOULD HAPPILY SEE IT AGAIN.

The performers show great virtuosity and the music is enchanting.
THIS IS A MUST-SEE for anyone who is interested in or even curious about Piazzolla.

William Weigel, composer, former senior counsel, Davis Polk and Wardwell LLP

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I AM STILL REELING FROM THE EXPERIENCE.


I am a frequent theater patron and cannot remember the last time I was swept away and taken on such a beautiful, transformative journey.
An absolute perfect piece this is - the impeccably timed, absolutely authentic narration; the achingly gorgeous music.


THIS IS ART AT ITS FINEST.

Nothing I have seen on Broadway, off Broadway, or regionally comes close. I only hope that many more can experience the genius of Astor Piazzolla, and this gem of a show.

Valerie Slosky, actress

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ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS SHOW!

The music will take you to another world where heartache, passion, and joy combine into a single powerful experience. The show has humor, wit, joy and sorrow with an easy, beautiful narration. I left wanting to know even more about Astor Piazzolla and how he created such soul-stirring music.

 

WHAT AN AMAZING NIGHT.


Sarah Walton, business mentor, author, speaker

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