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THE FAMILY SHAKESPEARE
"The Family Shakespeare raises key questions around the timely issue of censorship. These larger questions, along with a gifted cast, make for a compelling production... Cotton Wright is wonderful in her portayal of Henrietta, convincingly embodying a woman who is both intelligent and articulate yet also naive and childlike... The intricate, visually dazzling costumes by Rachel Dozier-Ezell add great beauty and authenticity, and often times resemble creations that would wow even on modern catwalks." -Theatre Is Easy "Part Shakespeare In Love, part Sam Shepard play in corsets, The Family Shakespeare is an interesting story. The actors gave solid performances. Eric C. Bailey has some of the show’s best laugh lines, Alexandra Cohen-Spiegler is a delightful Dorcas, and Cotton Wright is an engaging Henrietta. The costumes by Rachel Dozier-Ezell are beautiful, and the set by Blair Mielnik is quite creative in the small theatre space. The show’s director Antonio Miniño has created some delightful staging sequences... It’s nice to see a new play in period costumes about censorship, family and poetry. It’s infinitely better than staying home and watching reruns of the network-approved version of Sex and the City." -nytheatre.com "The time is right for David Stallings’s new play The Family Shakespeare... Cotton [Wright] is charming, with a naturally evident love of poetry and a contagious sense of play. Corey [Tazmania] is quite the opposite in an equally exciting way. Her harsh and pessimistic look on life is believable without falling into the stereotypes of villain or shrew. Instead, her complex, tortured past is on stage with her at all times. Frankie Seratch as the ten-year-old Fen is also loveable and honest, which is impressive especially at such a young age... The Family Shakespeareis interesting and provocative with an active thesis, which sets it apart from the crowd" -Show Business Weekly "The performance has excellent production values (especially in Rachel Dozier-Ezell's costumes and Dan Gallagher's lights) and a versatile cast, especially Cotton Wright, whose performance as Henrietta Bowdler is worth the price of admission... The Family Shakespeare offers a pleasant theatrical experience." -OffOffOnline "It is always risky to create a work of art with an unambiguous message, and an anti-censorship message is no exception. Ambiguity, irony, and multiple meanings are the stuff of good art; an unambiguous message, no matter how right or passionate, risks sliding into agit-prop. Playwright David Stallings’s The Family Shakespeare, which recently opened at the June Havoc Theater in Manhattan, avoids this trap. It comes down decisively on the side of freedom, but also gives Thomas Bowdler, famous for his early 19th century expurgated versions of Shakespeare’s plays, a chance to make his case." -The Free Expression Policy Project. A HOME ACROSS THE OCEAN "Maieutic Theatre Works continues its string of excellent productions." -Stage Buzz "A smart, thoughtful exploration of change, renewal, survival, and the true meaning of family". -The Advocate Magazine "While the play may seem comfortably contemporary, A Home Across the Ocean is actually quite revolutionary." -Theatre Is Easy "Playwrights who are on the verge of burgeoning fame and possess a certain genius for tight writing are in abundance this season and thank goodness." -QonStage “A consummately professional and emotionally affecting production of a challenging play that re-examines notions of family and grief." -Theater Online GOOD LONELY PEOPLE “Faith, politics, and sexuality make for an explosive mix in Carol Carpenter's nuanced and thought-provoking new play, Good Lonely People.” -Theatermania BARRIER ISLAND "Broadway-level. It's one of the best directed shows (by Cristina Alicea), in terms of staging and emotional guidance and taste, that I've seen." -Performing Arts Insider & Lively-Arts "Incredibly moving... The deep, penetrating questions of roots vs. bravery vs. leaving vs. cowardice are ones not easily answered, and to Stallings credit, he doesn't try to. He lets you decide for yourself." -Theatre Is Easy "A thoughtful examination of the daily emotional and psychological 'storms' weathered by a handful of resilient Galveston natives." -Show Business Weekly “David Stallings has created such an honest, sometimes awful, sometimes heartwarming portrayal of what it means to come from a small town that it will either make you homesick… or happy you were born in New York.” -The Happiest Medium “We may not know why barrier islands exist, but we know that they're capable of forming and maintaining in a variety of environmental settings. The characters in this drama are made of the same mettle. And because they have the courage and stubbornness to stand, we stand with them.” -Stage and Cinema LOOK AFTER YOU "sensitively rendered, offering a respite from the campy fare that makes up much of this [fringe] fest.” -New York Post "Both Louise Flory and Jason Altman push through their scenes with earnest hopefulness and distress" -nytheatre.com "The direction by David Stallings is perfect" "A few people have noted to me that it's surprising this piece was accepted into the Fringe, since it's not a campy musical, has no nudity, and isn't a celebrity exposé- it's a real play. I'm glad that it was accepted. Recommended." -Broadway World THE OATH “Magnificent” & “Soulful” -Theatre Buzz “Outstanding drama… Wonderful, thought-provoking… With great performances, writing, and execution, The Oath is an outstanding drama worth pledging your allegiance to...Goldfinger marvelously unfolds the story with great dialogue and sympathetic characters.” -Theater Talk, New Theater Corps “An intriguing journey through the swampy American South…The Oath sends its audience upon a mind-enriching exploration in which we leave with more questions than answers—questions that will haunt even the most resistant audience member’s mind.” -Show Business Weekly "The Oath achieves a near perfect equilibrium between the quality of its writing and its performances...It’s perhaps due to [Goldfinger’s] deliberate subtlety that The Oath’s symbolism is so affecting. The story is laden with religious parallels, questions of female identity and themes of secrecy and familial duty, but the presence of a nationwide crisis that hovers over its cast of characters is what allows us to relate to them right off the bat—even before Goldfinger dismantles, in a startlingly effective manner, the initial archetypes that these characters represent.” -OffOffOnline ANAÏS NIN GOES TO HELL “Thank the gods for Stallings’ Anaïs Nin Goes to Hell.” -Village Voice “For a play about woman but written by a man, it tapped into the greater female psyche…” -New York Press “One of Fringe’s 2008 must-sees.” -Off Off Off “It’s nice to see a play that relies on strong women.” -nytheatre.com “Cristina Alicea’s direction is wonderful.” -Broadway World “Maieutic Theatre Works has produced another winning play.” -Stage Buzz PROVIDENCE “Now I know what it feels to be a fortune hunter who has discovered a hidden gem, Maieutic Theatre Works has a sack of gold on its hands, they are to be commended for producing such a fine contribution to the artistic world.” -nytheatre.com “The only thing that isn’t crisp, that is messy and oh so real, is the raw emotion and power provided by Sorenson, Crep, Ekblad and Wirth. The acting is excellent.” “Maieutic Theatre Works has created a beautiful and touching work of art.” -Stage Buzz ARPEGGIO “Director Cristina Alicea clearly knows what she is doing.” “Playwright David Stallings has given us a devastating portrait of today’s permanent un-grown-ups and framed it in the context of the current music scene, without commentary.” -Theatre Scene “The scenes with Allison Ikin shine… here’s hoping she gets more opportunities to show why real star power can astonish an audience into idolization.”-Backstage “At its heart, Arpeggio is a tight, well-plotted psychological thriller in the same vein as nail-biting films, Fatal Attraction and Single White Female.” -Off Off Online FOLIE A DEUX “They manage to humanize the killers… There is not a moment in the piece when I did not believe that they were passionate lovers, or crazy, or capable of murder.” -nytheatre.com “Stallings, who proves himself both a playwright and an actor to watch.” -HX Magazine |
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