Review Fix Exclusive: David Gow Talks Where Has Tommy Flowers Gone

Review Fix chats with actor David Gow, who discusses his part in the upcoming production of Where Has Tommy Flowers Gone.

Performances begin Thursday, November 30th at the WorkShop Theater.

The play follows a young man who is very discontent with society and decides to take make a big and dangerous statement. It’s interesting to see how his reaction to the politics of the 70s matches current grievances and dangerous reactions to our current landscape.

Review Fix: What originally attracted you to the work of Terrence McNally?

David Gow: To me, Terrence McNally can do no wrong. No matter the era, genre, or subject matter, his language always hits the ear and the heart in the most effective way. What he has been able to accomplish, particularly in Where Has Tommy Flowers Gone, is remarkable.

Review Fix: Why must someone see this production?

Gow: People should see this production because it is the near perfect theatrical example of history repeating itself. If not for the stylistic and pop-culture references to the 70s, an audience member would swear the story was about the political and social climate of 2017.

Beyond that, it’s incredibly entertaining. It offers as wide a range as I have ever seen in a play- veering into extreme comedy and “farce” moments, while also going into deeply poignant, dramatic storytelling as well.

Review Fix: What have you learned about yourself through this production?

Gow: I have learned a lot about how humans, including myself, have the balance of how they are “seen” by the world and how they “want to be seen.” My character Tommy cares deeply about how he is perceived by the world and desperately attempts to mask his reality with a more positive perception. I think everyone does this to a certain extent, but it is really apparent with Tommy, especially because he is engaged in conversation with the audience the entire show. I’ve definitely noticed how I do this in my own life.

Review Fix: How did you prepare for this role?

Gow: I started with relentless research on the time period, which embarrassingly I knew little about. I read up on Abbie Hoffman and his book “Steal this Book,” which seems to be the bible that Tommy Flowers uses to live his life. I also practiced asking people for money on the street, which proved to be incredibly uncomfortable. The bulk of my work was done for me by our mastermind director Laura Braza, who true to form has been terrific about finding a linear storyline through all the vignettes and characters that pop in and out of Tommy’s story.

Review Fix: How would you like this production to be remembered?

Gow: That while the story itself may not be pretty, it’s important. The two main conflicts seem to be Tommy vs Society and Tommy vs Himself, and I think both offer a lot of to chew on. We as a cast have all fallen in love with this story, and I can’t wait to get it in front of an audience.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 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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