Reviews for Penfold Theatre Company Performances
Review: I'm Proud of You by Penfold Theatre Company
by Vanessa Hoang Hughes
Published on October 15, 2024
Sit back and enjoy the story of Mister Rogers in Penfold Theatre's sweet, low-stakes show with some fine actors.
You’ve probably found yourself enveloped in the wondrous world of Fred Rogers. Whether you watched his original show or the animated spin-off Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, you remember the kindness, wisdom, and love Rogers shared with his audience. As a proud Daniel Tiger kid, I can testify to the effect Mr. Rogers had on my childhood and how his themes of friendship and important feelings shined in my five-year-old eyes. I’m Proud of You by Tim …
Review: Amadeus by Penfold Theatre Company
by Brian Paul Scipione
Published on April 04, 2022
Kareem Badr's performance as Antonio Salieri in Liz Fisher's rework of AMADEUS is mesmerizing. The chaos of the play succeeds impressively in reflecting the chaos of his character’s mind.
In the early 1990's Spanish chef Ferran Adriá came up with "deconstructed food," an approach in which a dish is served with its primary ingredients presented separately. The idea was that diners should be able to re-assemble them so as to experience the dish anew in an entirely personal experience. The essence of a classic dish is maintained but its form is broken down so one has greater appreciation of the parts that make …
Review: Nevermore, The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe by Penfold Theatre Company
by David Glen Robinson
Published on October 29, 2018
The performance of this work must instantly go over the top and stay there for the duration of the show if it is to work at all. And this it does. Brilliantly.
Nevermore, the musical is an imaginary biography of America’s famous nineteenth century writer. The treatment, authored by Jonathan Christensen, is brilliant for wisely and succinctly relating the facts of Edgar Allan Poe’s life—what we know of them—to some of the major works of Poe’s fantastic flights. Christenson's imagination cuts through what remains obscure about Poe to create plausible scenarios, and then he wraps it all up in music and song to make a musical. And Michael McKelvey …
Review: An Iliad by Penfold Theatre Company
by Michael Meigs
Published on February 23, 2017
Cami Alys as the poet and narrator of AN ILIAD is transcendent, and the staging at the historic Scottish Rite Theatre is exactly right for this superb venture into the howling heart of mankind.
We walked away afterwards stunned and wordless. My wife was moved to tears. From the interpretation of an epic poem written nearly three thousand years ago. This is the power of theatre and this is a performance and interpretation that must not be missed. Essential if you want to understand why the art form refuses to die; essential if you're not frightened by huge themes of life, death, love and war; …
Review: Clybourne Park by Penfold Theatre Company
by Michael Meigs
Published on May 30, 2016
Penfold Theatre's staging is superlative, off the top of any scale you might use to rate this important and fiercely relevant work of theatre art.
Plays and performances are complex works of art, and the impact upon those watching even the same staging may be wildly different. That's why I chose very early on -- eight years ago -- not to resort to inevitably misleading numerical rating scales in these reviews. One man's meat is another man's poison, of course, but more importantly, a reductive number is just as misleading as a dutiful standing ovation delivered by friends of the …
Review: The Last Five Years, by Penfold Theatre
by David Glen Robinson
Published on March 29, 2015
David Gallagher’s songs drew applause while Burke’s songs, presented superbly, stimulated thoughtful reflection. But Burke brought down the house in one line in a song declaiming the woes of auditioners.
The Last Five Years is the story of a relationship that proceeds through attraction, dating, marriage and beyond, all in the span of less than two hours in stage time and five years in narrative time. The elapsed time is unimportant to the relationship and the production. The show seems like about thirty minutes and gone too soon. Attribute this to the deft and efficient direction of Michael McKelvey, surefooted and fresh from numerous successes …