Kenrex- 30 April 2026

Fearlessly bold and absolutely striking, Kenrex is an utterly unique, genre defying production about how much space a single individual can occupy in the world. With one man (Jack Holden) performing every character and another (John Patrick Elliott) performing every music part, Kenrex is a world-building adventure that plunges the audience into a true crime thriller with precision and fluidity that shocks and amazes. Based on real life events, Kenrex tells the story of a man who is literally hunted by his neighbors after legal proceedings fail to fulfill their desire for him to face repercussions for terrorizing the town.

Complex and oddly intimate, Holden brings full commitment to each character and paints a vivid picture of the town as a whole. His physicality is distinct for each one, and he goes between voices with an apparent ease that amazes and delights. Sweat is visible dripping down Holden’s face, but he persists with the relentless pace of the show with an inspiring dedication. Each character has their own microphone, symbolizing their own voice, and, in a shocking scene as the town falls apart, Holden unplugs the microphones of those who no longer have an individual voice. Keeping all of these characters clear is a stroke of pure genius, and it is helped by the rhythmic, pulsating collaboration of sound (Giles Thomas) and music.

The music for this show is its own brilliant vision. Elliott and Thomas rely a lot on analog audio techniques, and the score is a combination of songs with lyrics, melodic music arrangements, and ambient sounds that contribute to the storytelling of the play. Elliott’s musicianship is impressive, particularly in the moment when he takes center stage and solos in the door of the bar, surrounded by fog and lighting (Joshua Pharo) that truly places Elliott in the canon of incredible rock performers.

Design elements were all heavily involved in immersing the audience in the story. Lighting cues were very quick, and sometimes visible for only a brief flash in the fog. They were well thought out in moments both big and small. Sound was a force to be reckoned with, adding everything from additional voices to a fully encompassing soundscape of effects to the ends of Holden’s sentences as he bounced to the next character’s perspective. The rolling tape recorder created an analog feeling appropriate to the tone that grounded the audience in the setting of the piece. Video (Joshua Pharo) was minimal, but has a couple of moments that stand out, particularly the one with Trina’s shadow. In a show this complex, it was important for video and costumes (Anisha Fields) to be minimal to keep all eyes on Holden’s cast of characters to maximize audience ability to follow the story.

Kenrex is a nail-biting adventure that keeps the audience on their toes. It raises questions of ethics and morality, but doesn’t demand that the audience focus on them. It is the pinnacle of exciting storytelling, and should be commended for its thorough, well thought out uses of the tools of theatre. Kenrex boldly pushes boundaries, and is an experience, not just a performance. You feel the music reverberating around the theatre. The fog billows out into the audience. No matter where you are seated, the show feels very close and immediate, pulling you in with its hypnotic hold. Its fierce intensity is truly magnificent and definitely worth a visit to the Lucille Lortel Theater.

I attended this performance on a press pass from DKC/O&M.