(Photo by Tina Mills. Courtesy of Lucasfilm Ltd.)

Reviews:

Here are excerpts from a number of reviews from the play from the most recent to the earliest.

Blunt Review by Emily Blunt Review
2003 April
"This unbelievably clever hootenanny delivers the trilogy of Star Wars features in a mere thirty minutes. After tremendous success at Edinburgh famous Fringe Fest in 1999, writer/director Patrick T. Gorman, brought the winning parody to Los Angeles... Brilliant... SW30 is a wildly successful show that has repeat audience members as in love with these space cadets as Lucas' series. People familiar with the Trilogy will obviously get way more out of the warp speed parody, but truly those who dig comedy done well should fork out the dough too. Bluntly speaking: Do yourself a favor, see this. "

Good Day LA & Fox 11 Morning News
Interview (Click for Video Clip)
2003 March 11
"The Star Wars Trilogy has undergone an amazing transformation."

Los Angeles Daily News Review
2003 February 20
"A FEW ESSENTIAL facts concerning "Star Wars Trilogy in 30 Minutes' ... First, the title is accurate. A scant half-hour after the company's first "A long time ago ...' and you're out on the street with enough time to grab a latte or catch a late movie at the Beverly Center. Second, George Lucas said OK. Proving that he has a sense of humor and a nose for quality, the creator of the "Star Wars' franchise gave his blessing to Patrick Gorman's quickie "SW' love letter.And finally: "Star Wars Trilogy in 30 Minutes' is several clicks funnier than "Puppetry of the Penis,' which, before it closed, occupied the same theater complex as "SW 30.' "

Talkin' Broadway Review & Interview
2003 January 1
"The beauty in Patrick T. Gorman's adaptation is that it distills scenes, battles, and even entire characters, to their basic essence... SW30 packs three movies and a heck of a lot of laughs into a half-hour. It is fast-moving and detail-orientated. Blink and you'll miss a visual joke. Like the movies it lovingly mocks, it has its patrons lining up down the street (but, true to its spirit, only for 15 minutes). Join the line, you won't regret it. Or, to put it in appropriately condensed form: SW30 - funny as hell."

CNN
2002 December 28
CNN aired a piece on Mr. Gorman and the show several times on this date that had George Lucas with Steven Spielberg stating: "It's a wonderful show. It's a theatrical production where they do the entire trilogy in 30 minutes. It's pretty intense. It's very funny, extremely funny." The segment also included an interview with author/director Patrick T. Gorman.

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Movie Poop Shoot
2002 December 16
(from Chris Ryall's "One Hand Clapping")
"There may just be no better way to spend a half-hour than at Patrick's STAR WARS TRILOGY IN 30 MINUTES... The pace is blistering, and constantly hilarious. It's actually more like a classic SNL skit, with the exceptions being that it's not mocking and, if anything, you'd like it to run longer."

Digital City
2002 November 15
"Now USC grad Patrick T. Gorman puts these childhood fantasies on the stage, writing and directing a warp-speed conflation of the first three films (the good ones), that depicts a merry band of 12 actors flying through almost seven hours of celluloid in 30 minutes. Props are intentionally ordinary -- R2D2 is an actor holding a garbage can topped by a stainless steel bowl -- which magnifies the childlike intensity and hilarity of the show. Gorman's raucous 30-minute adventure was a hit at the Edinburgh Festival in 1999 and received the blessing of George Lucas himself -- the most eminent Jedi of them all -- after a command performance at the director's Skywalker Ranch earlier this year."

LA Weekly
2002 November 7
"Patrick T. Gormanís adaptation of this beloved sci-fi epic involves every actor at all times, either playing one of their multiple roles or producing classic S.W. sound effects such as the "waaaanwaaaan" of the light sabers and the ominous chanting that accompanies the Emperorís chilling entrance. Itís fast, full of spot-on parody, worth enough chuckles to carry the half-hour and, if nothing else, validates those elementary years when re-enacting the trilogy with Kenner action figures seemed like such a waste of time to our undercultured parents."

ShowMag.com
2002 November 6
"Cast in multiple roles, this earnest group presents one of the wackiest, most entertaining shows currently playing in the city. This is true ensemble work, and it really pays off. In fact, the whole show is an imaginative piece of theater which should be required viewing for all folks who love comedy, audacity, and invention. To say too much about the experience would spoil the fun. It is laugh-out-loud hilarious."

Los Angeles Times
2002 November 1
"This U.S. premiere of adapter-director Patrick T. Gorman's bargain-basement truncation of George Lucas' tripartite sci-fi epic negotiates the Coronet Theatre's upstairs space at warp speed... A high-octane machine, walking the tightrope between representation and sendup in a manner recalling the glory days of Second City, if not the earlier, funny episodes of 'Saturday Night Live.' "

Backstage West
2002 October 31
"Here's one show the title of which tells you exactly what you're getting into, and there's something to be said for truth in advertising. Trilogy in 30 Minutes is just that, the entire Star Wars saga condensed into a fast and furious staging. Playwright/director Patrick T. Gorman clearly knows his material and delivered on the daunting task of choosing the highlights from each story. He stages his action with an admirable minimalism, using ordinary objects like chairs and flashlights in lieu of grand special effects. He's aided by a terrific cast whose performances walk the delicate line between homage and parody. It's a blast to watch the group of talented performers who clearly share the audience's affection for the classic saga."

Daily Variety
2002 October 29
"Before you can blurt out "let the force be with you," adapter/director Patrick T. Gorman unleashes his cast of 12 in a hilarious, high-energy spoof of George Lucas' classic trilogy. A smash hit at the 1999 Edinburgh Festival, now receiving its U.S. premiere, "Trilogy" demonstrates that six hours and 13 minutes of film can be compressed into a 30-minute play when sharply edited, fueled with powerhouse pacing and joyously abandoned portrayals...Lucas celebrates the magic of childhood, and Gorman catches the essence of the source material...Gorman's staging is unfailingly imaginative..."

Los Angeles Sunday Times
2002 October 27
"I was quite impressed that they were able to find a way to make 'Star Wars' faster and more intense," says George Lucas, speaking from his Marin County headquarters. "I'm always happy that 'Star Wars' continues to be a source of creative inspiration, and I hope to see them perform again after Episode 3 comes out, when they can do all six 'Star Wars' in 60 minutes."

Ain't It Cool News
2002 October
"Gorman and a team of dedicated young actors do the entire original trilogy in memorable highlights in thirty minutes. I liked it a lot...The invention here is the extremely low-tech approach. The props are all household objects. The actors really put their hearts in it and make the absurd approach funny and believable...Seriously, check it out and tell them that I sent you."

Indianapolis Star
2002 May 20
"The Star Wars Trilogy in 30 Minutes," added an extra Sunday performance to accommodate fans wanting to see the live stage show presented by the University of Southern California School of Theater. Writer-director Patrick T. Gorman created the compressed trilogy seven years ago. He took his cue from Tom Stoppard's play called 'The 15-Minute Hamlet.' "Our generation's 'Hamlet' is 'Star Wars.' We wanted to see if we could do something that is so cinematic and so full of special effects and turn it into a theater experience." It's basically the same play they were doing seven years ago with the blessing of Lucasfilm. If they book it on a college tour, buy a ticket. It's fast, frenetic, and funny.""

Reuters
2001 August 8
"The world record for completing the "Star Wars" trilogy currently stands at 29 minutes and 12 seconds -- but the guys are working on it... The crowd, huddled on chairs in a tiny community center, holler and cheer as Luke Skywalker, armed with a plastic light saber and his very own dodgy sound effects, conquers the sinister and heavily wheezing Darth Vader...The show, created by Patrick T. Gorman, has played to packed houses in Paris, Los Angeles and Edinburgh. "

Associated Press
2001 August 20
"It took George Lucas about seven hours to tell the story of the original "Star Wars" trilogy, but it takes only a half hour for Patrick Gorman to repeat it. Gorman wrote the play "Star Wars Trilogy in 30 Minutes," which has been playing to packed houses in Paris, Los Angeles and Edinburgh, Scotland. "

Sunday London Times
2001 August
"You must go and see the entire Star Wars Trilogy in 30 Minutes... It's brilliantly done. You'll laugh."