GO THE MOST MEDIOCRE STORY NEVER TOLD In his autobiographical one-man show, Jay Sefton takes every aspect of the autobiographical one-man show and dismantles it before our eyes. This is because his show isn’t really about his youth in Philadelphia and subsequent move to L.A., nor is it about his older and more macho brother Joe, whom Sefton portrays and who frequently hijacks the show. Sefton’s exploration probes the essence of a story, and the distinctions, if any, between a legend and a lie. Joe keeps goading Jay to make things up or the show will be a bore. The awful truth is that his brother may be right — that a normal, honorable if meek youth with caring parents is the pleasant kind of existence that nobody wants to hear about onstage, or see in movies or read in books. Edward Albee once said that he writes a play in order to understand why he’s writing it. Sefton’s show is so clearly undertaken with the goal of Sefton trying to understand why he should be telling his life story, the result breezes past narcissism on a charm-filled meta-literary excursion, under Debra De Liso’s nimble direction – something like a magic- carpet ride. Meta Theatre, 7801 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood; Sun., 7 p.m.; through Oct. 26. (323) 960-7780. (Steven Leigh Morris) See Theater feature next week."

“…this is an energetic, entertaining deconstruction of the genre—and really not mediocre at all.”
- Lisa Ritchie

“Jay Sefton's very funny and charming one-man show, The Most Mediocre Story Never Told!, directed by Debra Deliso, is either an exception to this formula or an exemplar of it.”

“This everyman quality Sefton portrays is of course exactly what makes the show interesting and funny and what makes Sefton himself as an onstage persona engaging and relatable. Sefton is a charming and adept performer, keeping the audience's sympathy for the breezy hour-long piece.”

“…this one seems to have both more artifice and honesty.”

“The Most Mediocre Story Never Told! manages to be clever and funny without being either precious or cloying. It manages to leap over the biggest hurdle that all shows in this genre face: who is this person on the stage and why should we in the audience care? In one sense, Sefton's answer is: nobody, and you shouldn't. In another, his answer is what makes him somebody you care about and become interested in.”

“An engaging, ingratiating presence onstage, Sefton vividly lives up to his description of himself as a “neverending underdog,” but is so completely lacking in self-pity that you come to love and root for him anyway.”

“Sefton is on solid ground here”

“With The Most Mediocre Story Never Told!, Sefton confirms that it’s possible, and perhaps even likely, that a one-person play can be successfully spun from any source.”

“Jay Sefton exuberantly bounds to the stage with a goofy grin that's instantly endearing, and his genuinely appealing presence promises a charming solo show.”