Gwynedd Vetter-Drusch (Rosalind) and Savannah Jackson (Celia) in As You Like It, 2018. Photo by Eric Jenks
AS YOU LIKE IT, 2018
"Saratoga Shakespeare has assembled an outstanding cast for "As You Like It," the first production of its 18th season of free outdoor theater in Congress Park. There are a lot of them — 22 in all — but expert facility with the Bard's language runs deep into the small parts. So well do they deliver the words that it takes almost no time to acclimate your ears...Director Elizabeth Carlson-Guerin and her cast work mightily to be entertaining, and it's to their credit that the production is as engaging as it is. Among the superlative performers, Gwynedd Vetter-Drusch and Woodrow Proctor as the central couple, Rosalind and Orlando, are the best overall, though Wesley Broulik brings an abundance of welcome funny business as the jester Touchstone, who has a rowdy romance with a goatherd named Audrey (Stephanie Craven). John Romeo gives suitable gravitas to the duke, Savannah Jackson has an appealing spark as Rosalind's beloved cousin, Oliver Wadsworth does double duty as Orlando's servant and a shepherd, and Cormac Bohan is amusing as the hopelessly besotted Silvius. Louis Butelli, making his Saratoga Shakespeare debut, is a real find as the contemplative Jaques."
Steve Barnes, The Times Union July 18, 2018
"Saratoga Shakespeare has assembled an outstanding cast for "As You Like It," the first production of its 18th season of free outdoor theater in Congress Park. There are a lot of them — 22 in all — but expert facility with the Bard's language runs deep into the small parts. So well do they deliver the words that it takes almost no time to acclimate your ears...Director Elizabeth Carlson-Guerin and her cast work mightily to be entertaining, and it's to their credit that the production is as engaging as it is. Among the superlative performers, Gwynedd Vetter-Drusch and Woodrow Proctor as the central couple, Rosalind and Orlando, are the best overall, though Wesley Broulik brings an abundance of welcome funny business as the jester Touchstone, who has a rowdy romance with a goatherd named Audrey (Stephanie Craven). John Romeo gives suitable gravitas to the duke, Savannah Jackson has an appealing spark as Rosalind's beloved cousin, Oliver Wadsworth does double duty as Orlando's servant and a shepherd, and Cormac Bohan is amusing as the hopelessly besotted Silvius. Louis Butelli, making his Saratoga Shakespeare debut, is a real find as the contemplative Jaques."
Steve Barnes, The Times Union July 18, 2018
The Ensemble in The Winter's Tale. Photo by Morgan Barbour
THE WINTER'S TALE, 2017
"When the weakest element in a production of a play written by William Shakespeare is the material, you know you have attended a special piece of theater. This is the case with “The Winter’s Tale” being offered through Saturday at Congress Park in Saratoga Springs by Saratoga Shakespeare. The production overcomes most of the problems of “The Winter’s Tale,” which is considered by many to be one of Shakespeare’s biggest problem plays. It is one of my least favorite plays written by Shakespeare, and while this production didn’t convert me to become a “Winter’s Tale” enthusiast, it did force me to feel it with a more open heart. The cast is flawless, the direction is near-brilliant and the presentation a charming mix of youthful energy and mature insightfulness... The production, under the wise direction of Liz Carlson-Guerin, not only makes the obtuse plot seem plausible, it becomes affecting. The magical-realism within the story adds a sense of enchantment and the play becomes a tale of reconciliation that speaks to forgiveness. Carlson-Guerin sets a pitch-perfect tone for the production that overcomes the negative elements in the work. She creates a world for the play – both in style and mood -in which anything can happen and where goodness prevails over cruel behavior and madness." -Bob Goepfert, The Troy Record August 2, 2017
"When the weakest element in a production of a play written by William Shakespeare is the material, you know you have attended a special piece of theater. This is the case with “The Winter’s Tale” being offered through Saturday at Congress Park in Saratoga Springs by Saratoga Shakespeare. The production overcomes most of the problems of “The Winter’s Tale,” which is considered by many to be one of Shakespeare’s biggest problem plays. It is one of my least favorite plays written by Shakespeare, and while this production didn’t convert me to become a “Winter’s Tale” enthusiast, it did force me to feel it with a more open heart. The cast is flawless, the direction is near-brilliant and the presentation a charming mix of youthful energy and mature insightfulness... The production, under the wise direction of Liz Carlson-Guerin, not only makes the obtuse plot seem plausible, it becomes affecting. The magical-realism within the story adds a sense of enchantment and the play becomes a tale of reconciliation that speaks to forgiveness. Carlson-Guerin sets a pitch-perfect tone for the production that overcomes the negative elements in the work. She creates a world for the play – both in style and mood -in which anything can happen and where goodness prevails over cruel behavior and madness." -Bob Goepfert, The Troy Record August 2, 2017
Ken Opdenaker in The Birds. Photo by Rebecca Gudelunas
THE BIRDS, 2016*
"...Director Elizabeth Carlson-Guerin’s production uses low-key theatrical magic to ratchet up the terror in insidious ways. It’s an engrossingly creepy experience that’ll get you in the perfect mood for Halloween... Director Carlson-Guerin serves up a nerve-wracking, immersive production that puts the audience in the middle of the action. After walking through the front door of a miniature house built in the middle of the high-ceilinged church sanctuary that Curio calls home, audience members sit on three levels of seating on the edges of Diane and Nat’s living room. Paul Kuhn’s set design is full of nice, lived-in touches; the wallpaper with silhouetted images of birds is an especially clever touch. And thanks to Chris Sannino’s relentless sound design, you’ll feel as if you’re in the middle of a bird attack. (You’ll even feel the rafters overhead shake from time to time.) Robin Stamey’s lighting design is inspired, drawing nearly all of its illumination from candles and from light seeping in from between the slats of boarded-up windows. It’s so dark at times that it’s almost impossible to see the actors deliver their lines. That adds to the claustrophobic atmosphere that makes The Birds so chillingly effective. Late in the play, a fourth character appears: Tierney, a neighbor played with a nice touch of menace by Ken Opdenaker. At the performance I attended, when Opdenaker made his unexpected appearance, a woman in the front row shrieked “Oh my God!”That shriek was a sign that Carlson-Guerin and her crew are doing something right and special." -Tim Dunleavy, DC Metro, October 10, 2016
"...In fact, we don't see birds at all in the play, unless one counts the wallpaper's subtle irony. We hear them often, but they're a McGuffin, the device that defines the situation. In The Walking Dead, it's zombies. In both, the real story is about surviving other people. Only one other appears — Ken Opdenaker, masterful in the play's most suspenseful scene — but that's enough to build the 100-minute play's tension, as director Elizabeth Carlson-Guerin does with patient skill. Even when the play's realistically portrayed activities seem tedious (candles lit and blown out, shutters opened and closed, blankets spread out and stored away), these grim survival details build to a powerful finale. Carlson-Guerin allows uneasy silences to take their toll, and lets Stamey's appropriately dim, spooky lighting add to the play's claustrophobic embrace. Though we never see actual attacks, The Birds is a superbly scary experience." -Mark Cofta, Broad Street Review, October 16, 2016
"...McPherson’s dialog and interrelations are characteristically naturalistic in THE BIRDS. Director Elizabeth Carlson-Guerin recognizes that for the sinister work to take hold we need to believe in the characters and their predicament. Her cast (Ken Openaker completes the quartet in a brief, moving appearance) successfully underplay the drama; their emotional outbursts feel deserved and real." -Christopher Munden, Phindie, October 8, 2016
"No matter how harrowing someone's situation becomes, "Everything will be fine" and "It's all going to be OK" emerge as the most common choruses from among that person's acquaintances. What if, however, such sentiments seemed impossible even to contemplate let alone utter because of the strength of a matter's uncertainty? With The Birds, its Season 12 opener, Curio Theatre Co. addresses that inquiry with balanced doses of levity and gravity, resulting in a bare and brave look at responsibilities to oneself and others." -Joseph Myers, Philadelphia Inquirer, October 10, 2016
*Barrymore Nominated for Scenic Design (Paul Kuhn) and Sound Design (Chris Sannino)
"...Director Elizabeth Carlson-Guerin’s production uses low-key theatrical magic to ratchet up the terror in insidious ways. It’s an engrossingly creepy experience that’ll get you in the perfect mood for Halloween... Director Carlson-Guerin serves up a nerve-wracking, immersive production that puts the audience in the middle of the action. After walking through the front door of a miniature house built in the middle of the high-ceilinged church sanctuary that Curio calls home, audience members sit on three levels of seating on the edges of Diane and Nat’s living room. Paul Kuhn’s set design is full of nice, lived-in touches; the wallpaper with silhouetted images of birds is an especially clever touch. And thanks to Chris Sannino’s relentless sound design, you’ll feel as if you’re in the middle of a bird attack. (You’ll even feel the rafters overhead shake from time to time.) Robin Stamey’s lighting design is inspired, drawing nearly all of its illumination from candles and from light seeping in from between the slats of boarded-up windows. It’s so dark at times that it’s almost impossible to see the actors deliver their lines. That adds to the claustrophobic atmosphere that makes The Birds so chillingly effective. Late in the play, a fourth character appears: Tierney, a neighbor played with a nice touch of menace by Ken Opdenaker. At the performance I attended, when Opdenaker made his unexpected appearance, a woman in the front row shrieked “Oh my God!”That shriek was a sign that Carlson-Guerin and her crew are doing something right and special." -Tim Dunleavy, DC Metro, October 10, 2016
"...In fact, we don't see birds at all in the play, unless one counts the wallpaper's subtle irony. We hear them often, but they're a McGuffin, the device that defines the situation. In The Walking Dead, it's zombies. In both, the real story is about surviving other people. Only one other appears — Ken Opdenaker, masterful in the play's most suspenseful scene — but that's enough to build the 100-minute play's tension, as director Elizabeth Carlson-Guerin does with patient skill. Even when the play's realistically portrayed activities seem tedious (candles lit and blown out, shutters opened and closed, blankets spread out and stored away), these grim survival details build to a powerful finale. Carlson-Guerin allows uneasy silences to take their toll, and lets Stamey's appropriately dim, spooky lighting add to the play's claustrophobic embrace. Though we never see actual attacks, The Birds is a superbly scary experience." -Mark Cofta, Broad Street Review, October 16, 2016
"...McPherson’s dialog and interrelations are characteristically naturalistic in THE BIRDS. Director Elizabeth Carlson-Guerin recognizes that for the sinister work to take hold we need to believe in the characters and their predicament. Her cast (Ken Openaker completes the quartet in a brief, moving appearance) successfully underplay the drama; their emotional outbursts feel deserved and real." -Christopher Munden, Phindie, October 8, 2016
"No matter how harrowing someone's situation becomes, "Everything will be fine" and "It's all going to be OK" emerge as the most common choruses from among that person's acquaintances. What if, however, such sentiments seemed impossible even to contemplate let alone utter because of the strength of a matter's uncertainty? With The Birds, its Season 12 opener, Curio Theatre Co. addresses that inquiry with balanced doses of levity and gravity, resulting in a bare and brave look at responsibilities to oneself and others." -Joseph Myers, Philadelphia Inquirer, October 10, 2016
*Barrymore Nominated for Scenic Design (Paul Kuhn) and Sound Design (Chris Sannino)
EQUUS, 2013
"...Curio Theatre Company needed to find a fresh, or at least relevant, angle for 21st-century audiences. Find it they did. Liz Carlson’s nuanced direction emphasizes the inner struggle faced by psychiatrist Martin Dysart (Paul Kuhn), a man torn between professional doubts and the dwindling embers of his genuine desire to help troubled teens. Kuhn’s superb performance reveals a man at midlife, emptied of passion, dealing with a youth (a deft Eric Scotolati as Alan Strang) who has conflated religious imagery and sexual desire into a torturous inner tempest." - Jum Rutter, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 30, 2013
"As audience members enter Curio’s playing space in the Calvary Center, they are immediately put into the central locale of the story.The theatre is configured in the round and the audience is seated in what feel like stall areas. It’s another evocative scenic design created by Paul Kuhn—nicely lit by Tim Martin. Director Liz Carlson has created a full theatrical experience. Her pace is strong, never lagging and the work of the ensemble unfolds the story wonderfully. One can see a solid hand at the helm...If you are an adult looking for a very well-acted, thought-provoking production, I highly recommend you head to Curio." -Ellen Wilson-Dilks, Stage Magazine, January 28, 2013
"Director Liz Carlson’s intimate, atmospheric production highlights the sexual and religious mysteries haunting Dr. Dysart (Curio artistic director Paul Kuhn) as he works to coax out teenager Alan’s (Eric Scotolati) motivations... The tension-filled build to the event is more powerful than the act of violence itself — a deliberate choice, apparently, to focus on the tempestuous forces within Alan, rather than the bloody spectacle of their outburst. Curio makes a strong case for reviving Equus; it’s not merely a powerful story, it’s also unfortunately timely." - Mark Cofta, Philadelphia City Paper, January 30, 2013
"...Curio Theatre Company needed to find a fresh, or at least relevant, angle for 21st-century audiences. Find it they did. Liz Carlson’s nuanced direction emphasizes the inner struggle faced by psychiatrist Martin Dysart (Paul Kuhn), a man torn between professional doubts and the dwindling embers of his genuine desire to help troubled teens. Kuhn’s superb performance reveals a man at midlife, emptied of passion, dealing with a youth (a deft Eric Scotolati as Alan Strang) who has conflated religious imagery and sexual desire into a torturous inner tempest." - Jum Rutter, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 30, 2013
"As audience members enter Curio’s playing space in the Calvary Center, they are immediately put into the central locale of the story.The theatre is configured in the round and the audience is seated in what feel like stall areas. It’s another evocative scenic design created by Paul Kuhn—nicely lit by Tim Martin. Director Liz Carlson has created a full theatrical experience. Her pace is strong, never lagging and the work of the ensemble unfolds the story wonderfully. One can see a solid hand at the helm...If you are an adult looking for a very well-acted, thought-provoking production, I highly recommend you head to Curio." -Ellen Wilson-Dilks, Stage Magazine, January 28, 2013
"Director Liz Carlson’s intimate, atmospheric production highlights the sexual and religious mysteries haunting Dr. Dysart (Curio artistic director Paul Kuhn) as he works to coax out teenager Alan’s (Eric Scotolati) motivations... The tension-filled build to the event is more powerful than the act of violence itself — a deliberate choice, apparently, to focus on the tempestuous forces within Alan, rather than the bloody spectacle of their outburst. Curio makes a strong case for reviving Equus; it’s not merely a powerful story, it’s also unfortunately timely." - Mark Cofta, Philadelphia City Paper, January 30, 2013
EURYDICE, 2011
"Curio’s production, under the direction of Liz Carlson, gets at the heart of Ruhl’s work, humanizing it, bringing its tragic elements to the fore, and making the Wilma’s production seem downright aloof... Director Carlson’s finest blend of sound and image comes as a chorus of stones (Gallagher, Eric Scotolati and Harry Slack) droop and sag while Father slowly builds Eurydice an Underworld house of string. Petersen’s nostalgic music rings one note at a time; eternity is long, but paternal love, it seems, makes the time pass more gently." - Wendy Rosenfield, Philadelphia Inquirer, October 16, 2011
"Director Liz Carlson has cleverly and fluidly moved her actors around the space as they tell Eurydice’s tale. Her touches are evident throughout, but never heavy-handed. This is the third iteration I have seen of Ruhl's play, and it was the clearest in storytelling for me." -Ellen Wilson Dilks, Stage Magazine, October 17, 2011
"If you appreciate poetry, you’ll want to see Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice, which opened last Friday at the Curio Theatre and runs until November 12. If you like mythology, you’ll probably want to see it. Or if you like Greek tragedy. Or regular tragedy. Or if you’re a father, a daughter, or a lover. Actually, even if you are, or like, or are like none of these things, you’re going to want to see Eurydice at the Curio. Because it may be the finest production in Philadelphia right now... It’s difficult to do justice to director Liz Carlson’s production simply in dealing with its plot and characters. The play is an extended work of poetry that refuses to succumb to the kind of simple narrative experience that theater-goers may be used to... The action itself weighs as much as the verse, an expectation set from the very beginning with the two lovers dashing after each other across every inch of the stage. In one scene, Eurydice’s father builds Eurydice a room of string in the underworld. Not a word is spoken for minutes at a time, yet it is hard not to break down and cry... Like the very best poems, it will move you to tears before unveiling its meaning." -Jason Dimedeo, Culture Mob, October 17, 2011
"...Top that with brilliant casting, stage and sound design choices, and you get a production that is rich with depth and will keep you talking about it with a delicious glimmer of awe, long after you’ve left the theater. Liz Carlson directs Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice with a steady and humanizing hand. She takes a highly stylized play and brings it down to earth for us while still keeping it delightfully aloof. This production brings out both the tragedy and the warmth of the script very poignantly... Liz Carlson’s direction is fantastic and brings a script that could be way out there into something lovely and captivating. -Talisa Pace, The Examiner, November 10, 2011
"Curio’s production, under the direction of Liz Carlson, gets at the heart of Ruhl’s work, humanizing it, bringing its tragic elements to the fore, and making the Wilma’s production seem downright aloof... Director Carlson’s finest blend of sound and image comes as a chorus of stones (Gallagher, Eric Scotolati and Harry Slack) droop and sag while Father slowly builds Eurydice an Underworld house of string. Petersen’s nostalgic music rings one note at a time; eternity is long, but paternal love, it seems, makes the time pass more gently." - Wendy Rosenfield, Philadelphia Inquirer, October 16, 2011
"Director Liz Carlson has cleverly and fluidly moved her actors around the space as they tell Eurydice’s tale. Her touches are evident throughout, but never heavy-handed. This is the third iteration I have seen of Ruhl's play, and it was the clearest in storytelling for me." -Ellen Wilson Dilks, Stage Magazine, October 17, 2011
"If you appreciate poetry, you’ll want to see Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice, which opened last Friday at the Curio Theatre and runs until November 12. If you like mythology, you’ll probably want to see it. Or if you like Greek tragedy. Or regular tragedy. Or if you’re a father, a daughter, or a lover. Actually, even if you are, or like, or are like none of these things, you’re going to want to see Eurydice at the Curio. Because it may be the finest production in Philadelphia right now... It’s difficult to do justice to director Liz Carlson’s production simply in dealing with its plot and characters. The play is an extended work of poetry that refuses to succumb to the kind of simple narrative experience that theater-goers may be used to... The action itself weighs as much as the verse, an expectation set from the very beginning with the two lovers dashing after each other across every inch of the stage. In one scene, Eurydice’s father builds Eurydice a room of string in the underworld. Not a word is spoken for minutes at a time, yet it is hard not to break down and cry... Like the very best poems, it will move you to tears before unveiling its meaning." -Jason Dimedeo, Culture Mob, October 17, 2011
"...Top that with brilliant casting, stage and sound design choices, and you get a production that is rich with depth and will keep you talking about it with a delicious glimmer of awe, long after you’ve left the theater. Liz Carlson directs Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice with a steady and humanizing hand. She takes a highly stylized play and brings it down to earth for us while still keeping it delightfully aloof. This production brings out both the tragedy and the warmth of the script very poignantly... Liz Carlson’s direction is fantastic and brings a script that could be way out there into something lovely and captivating. -Talisa Pace, The Examiner, November 10, 2011
ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD, 2011
"And the entire ensemble has done beautifully detailed work here - under the strong and swift direction of Liz Carlson. She seems to know just when to let the gang loose and when to rein them in. And it is evident that she kept an eagle eye on it all, tweaking and editing as needed." - Ellen Wilson-Dilks, Stage Magazine, April 26, 2011
"CJ Keller and Eric Scotolati are well-matched as the titular duo...Their jaunty banter gives way to Brian McCann's superbly incisive performance as The Player. In Shakespeare he's just a traveling actor, but by Stoppard via McCann he's a charmingly enigmatic existential philosopher (amusingly positing that 'We're actors - the opposite of people') whom Stoppard gives the very best lines. McCann's 'orchestral' vocal accompaniment to Hamlet's play-within-a-play dumb show is sheer genius." -Mark Cofta, Philadelphia City Paper, April 28, 2011
"And the entire ensemble has done beautifully detailed work here - under the strong and swift direction of Liz Carlson. She seems to know just when to let the gang loose and when to rein them in. And it is evident that she kept an eagle eye on it all, tweaking and editing as needed." - Ellen Wilson-Dilks, Stage Magazine, April 26, 2011
"CJ Keller and Eric Scotolati are well-matched as the titular duo...Their jaunty banter gives way to Brian McCann's superbly incisive performance as The Player. In Shakespeare he's just a traveling actor, but by Stoppard via McCann he's a charmingly enigmatic existential philosopher (amusingly positing that 'We're actors - the opposite of people') whom Stoppard gives the very best lines. McCann's 'orchestral' vocal accompaniment to Hamlet's play-within-a-play dumb show is sheer genius." -Mark Cofta, Philadelphia City Paper, April 28, 2011
TWELFTH NIGHT, 2010
"The comedy sliced through the play's darkness beautifully and effortlessly. The duel scene...was as much fun as it was from Sir Toby's perspective. A rare achievement of melancholy laced with cut-to-the-bone humor. The majority of 'Twelfth Nights' don't even come close." -Wayne Myers, The Examiner, November 21, 2010 (This production is featured prominently in The Book of Twelfth Night or What You Will: Musings on Shakespeare's Most Wonderful Play by Wayne Myers)
"Director Liz Carlson puts the organ's massive brass pipes to effective use as the backdrop for the land of Illyria's romantic follies...When Malvolio is tricked, by the stoogoworthy team of Sir Toby Belch (Ryan Walter), Andrew Aguecheek (C.J. Keller), and Olivia's Fool Feste (Eric Scotolati), it's the finest moment in a show that fizzes..." - Wendy Rosenfield, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 26, 2010
"The cast is uniformly outstanding.." - Skott Scotland, The Nerd Signal, April 30, 2010
"The comedy sliced through the play's darkness beautifully and effortlessly. The duel scene...was as much fun as it was from Sir Toby's perspective. A rare achievement of melancholy laced with cut-to-the-bone humor. The majority of 'Twelfth Nights' don't even come close." -Wayne Myers, The Examiner, November 21, 2010 (This production is featured prominently in The Book of Twelfth Night or What You Will: Musings on Shakespeare's Most Wonderful Play by Wayne Myers)
"Director Liz Carlson puts the organ's massive brass pipes to effective use as the backdrop for the land of Illyria's romantic follies...When Malvolio is tricked, by the stoogoworthy team of Sir Toby Belch (Ryan Walter), Andrew Aguecheek (C.J. Keller), and Olivia's Fool Feste (Eric Scotolati), it's the finest moment in a show that fizzes..." - Wendy Rosenfield, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 26, 2010
"The cast is uniformly outstanding.." - Skott Scotland, The Nerd Signal, April 30, 2010
