Review Fix Exclusive: Dennis A. Allen II Talks “Tyson vs. Ali”

Review Fix chats with actor Dennis A. Allen II about his performance in Reid Farrington’s “Tyson vs. Ali,” a gripping new production that brings the long thought about dream bout to the stage.

Review Fix: How did you prepare for the role?

Dennis A. Allen II: I watched hours of YouTube clips of both men. We trained at Gleason’s gym for two months to develop our boxing techniques. Jonathan Swain is the only one of us that is a true boxer (he went Pro) so the three of us would spar him… There’s a Tyson quote we use in the show, ” nothing’s more humbling than getting your ass kicked”. Yeah… it is very true.

Review Fix: What was it like to work with Reid Farrington?

Allen II: Reid is great to work with, he has such an innovative and technical mind and he’s extremely open to ideas that are not his own. This project was such a collaborative effort from all aspects. What really impressed me was the team Reid assembled; from Laura’s brilliant choreography to Christopher Burris’ contribution to our acting, Juan’s immersive soundscape; everyone; lighting, video editing, it was what theatre is supposed to be an ensemble.

Review Fix: For someone who hasn’t seen the production, how would you describe the multimedia aspect?

Allen II: Intense.

Review Fix: What’s your favorite part of the production? Why?

Allen II: I can’t answer that. It’s like asking a parent who their favorite child is.

Review Fix: How do you want your performance to be remembered?

Allen II: The beautiful part about this production is that ones worldview will dictate how they experience the show, so everyone connects to it in a different but very visceral way. How my performance is remembered is not important to me, just that it is remembered; that I do connect to the audience in a way that makes them feel something, anything as long as they feel.

Photo by Paula Court

For more information on the show, visit www.3ldnyc.org.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14229 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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