Audience turnout for this past Thursday, Friday and Saturday Flipside performances was great. As the play comes to a close, people are scrambling to take in the show to see the word-of-mouth buzz for themselves.

Thursday, HartBeat Ensemble served some pre-show mojitos as people filed in and milled around before the show. Prior to coming to the show, I offered to replenish flyers at The Market 21 nearby, and was approached by an employee who insisted that he really wanted to see Flipside before the end of its run and then regaled actress and HartBeat Ensemble member, Cindy Martinez, with a slew of compliments. “That Cindy… “ he began as he shook his head in amazement… “Yo’ she’s a great talent! She is very talented!” he emphasized… and I could not agree more, as her spoken word bit gets stronger and more passionate each performance. This past Thursday night, I must say that Brian Jennings’s performance stood out the most to me. He seemed particularly hyper and full of adrenaline during his performance as undercover Narcotics agent, Nick Carter. He donned shades during certain throughout his performance (an improvised moment not apparent during prior shows) and brought a greater feeling of intensity to his character… which made for great moments between he and actor, Chinaza Uche who plays Bo. Chinaza seemed to feed off of Nick’s extra special sauce because it was pure magic during the scene where Nick finds out Bo is a drug dealer and where Bo finds out Nick is actually an undercover cop. Magick! After the show, one audience member (who just completed his third year in law school) commented that he thought Chinaza was perfectly cast as Bo. “I thought the scene in the show, where Bo changes into his prison scrubs in front of the audience was very authentic and raw… and I’m glad they showed that because that’s exactly what happens when a convicted felon is booked and taken to prison. He has to strip in front of everyone… it’s their way of breaking them down.” He noted. I nodded appreciatively… sorta slack-jawed because I considered that to be a rather keen and insightful observation. Especially since my first thought was what a taut set of thighs Chinaza has.

Friday night was an extra special, extra packed evening. A few notables were in attendance… including well-known Connecticut personality, Colin McEnroe and none other than the Hartford Mayor, Pedro Segarra, who offered up a few pre-show words of encouragement to HartBeat Ensemble and stressed the importance of fostering arts and cultural programs in communities. This show was marvelous! The performances were flawless and the cast did not miss a beat… adding an extra two-step, shuffle, and kick for good measure.

Saturday night’s Flipside turnout? Even more robust. The audience was incited to chorus (at least there were a lot of notable reactions in the section I was sitting). My favorite reverb of the night? When the man in front of me threw his hands up in an “awww man!” moment upon learning drug lord and police informant, Ramon Delgado’s (played by Cindy Martinez) fate.

Today is the last week to see Flipside … there are two shows left (Thursday and Saturday. Friday’s performance is cancelled), and it’d be a foolio move not to check it out. Wednesday night, HartBeat Ensemble and Rabbit Ears Media screened an hour-long “Behind-The-Scenes of Flipside” documentary, showing seen (via the YouTube web series) and never before seen footage of the making of the play. Awesome turn out, great questions, and even more in-depth than the YouTube web series, as the last half of the documentary featured the exhilaration of opening night’s performance and the cast congregating for a champagne toast! Good stuff.

Two more opportunities to see Flipside…