Reviews and Feature Articles

The Taming of the Shrew Reviews:

"Appearances can be deceiving in rowdy ‘Taming of the Shrew’," by Terry Byrne, Boston Globe
"‘Taming’ is wild at heart" by Jenna Scherer, Boston Herald
"The Taming of the Shrew," by Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston
"Mars and Venus," by Carolyn Clay, Boston Phoenix
"Fakery and Farce Play out in Shrew," by Deidre Yee, Play Shakespeare

The Taming of the Shrew Features:

"Director takes different view of Shakespeare's 'Shrew'," By Alexander Stevens, The Patriot Ledger
"A Modern Take on Shakespeare’s ‘Shrew’ Goes on at the Square," By Benjamin Naddaff-Hafrey, The Harvard Crimson

Press Release:  The Taming of the Shrew (10/1/09)
Word document

Much Ado About Nothing Reviews:

The Boston Globe
“Love, both in the first bright spark of attraction and in the slowly building glow of old flames, provides both heat and light for [ASPs] fine, fizzy production… we have the pure delight of watching Paula Plum and Richard Snee create an intricate, intelligent, and intoxicating dance between these two prickly lovers.” –Louise Kennedy
FULL REVIEW

The Boston Phoenix
“…the swank-on-a-shoestring ASP affair, managing to wed Noël Coward–esque sparring to the slapstick…[Plum] conveys almost from the beginning the vulnerability of prickly, brainy Beatrice. And Snee manages to seem both debonair and silly — often at once.” –Carolyn Clay
FULL REVIEW

EDGE Boston
“The cast do a heart-stopping job… Snee and Plum sizzle, serving volleys of wit and electricity at one another… this is "Much Ado" done right.” –Killian Melloy
FULL REVIEW

The Patriot Ledger
“To watch a show presented by Actors’ Shakespeare Project is to marvel at the agility of a small band of actors covering all the roles. Director Ben Evett has chosen this company from the “A list” of Boston’s theatrical community.” –Iris Fanger
FULL REVIEW

The Boston Herald
“…this is a production of small flourishes and light joys. Evett’s production functions on a shoestring, and uses it to hilarious metatheatrical effect… it’s a lot of fun. And on a warm summer evening, what more do you need?” –Jenna Scherer
FULL REVIEW

Coriolanus Reviews:

The Boston Globe
"Director Robert Walsh has a strikingly clear take on the play and its arguments between aristocratic and democratic rule...Benjamin Evett is martial and fierce as Coriolanus...[Steinbach is] a force to be reckoned with, a tiny tornado in a wide field." -Louise Kennedy
FULL REVIEW

The Boston Phoenix
"Robert Walsh's production moves gracefully and carries a big, effectively stylized stick...Steinbach masterfully incorporates her character's own advice into her appeal to Coriolanus to spare the life of Rome. Uttered with impeccable diction and stoic dignity, its choreography one of ceremonial abjection, its subtext a contest of wills, this magnificent speech deserves both the pin-drop hush it incurs and the buckling baby-boy soldier's reaction." -Carolyn Clay
FULL REVIEW

The Patriot Ledger
"[ASP's production] serves as yet another reminder of the continuing relevance of Shakespeare’s plays, particularly “Coriolanus"...Working with small numbers but large imagination, director Robert Walsh, aided mightily by former Stomp percussionist, Stephen Serwacki, brings the opposing Roman and Volscian armies to life with vigor and reverberating beats of metal on metal." -Iris Fanger
FULL REVIEW

The Boston Herald
"...Benjamin Evett as the magnetic Martius and Bobbie Steinbach as his tough-as-nails mother. Their scenes together form the emotional core of a play...ASP has always been unafraid of experimentation. The company tests new performance spaces, samples new methods and approaches the Bard’s works from surprising new angles...ASP can be admired for its innovation." -Jenna Scherer
FULL REVIEW

The Somerville News
"Benjamin Evett is an electrifying Coriolanus...Bobbie Steinbach's rendition of Volumnia is pitch-perfect.ASP has put on a wonderfully energetic, confident performance"
FULL REVIEW

Duchess of Malfi Reviews and Features:

The Boston Globe
"...each moment is at once an arresting image and an action charged with energy...The design work gives the actors a whole richly imagined world to play off, and they respond with intensely realized work." -Louise Kennedy
Full Review

The Boston Herald
"Confined by psychic boundaries, the characters look inward for justification, but ultimately fall prey to corruption and anger. It only plays out tautly if the language and the interaction are convincing, and this 'Duchess' is overwhelmingly realistic...Above all, the playing was first-rate." -Keith Powers
Full Review

The Boston Phoenix
"...this defiant duchess is, for all her appetites (including a tell-tale one for "apricocks"), a paragon. And at ASP, her palace a prison where the comings and goings are propelled by jangling music and the repeated clanging of slamming doors, she dies a stoic, almost triumphant death..." -Carolyn Clay
Full Review

EDGE
"...the production exceeds the company's always-high creative standards… events move along with the momentum of a Greek tragedy, charging along unstoppably." –Killian Melloy
Full Review

Features:

"Actors' Shakespeare Project Presents Boston Premiere of The Duchess of Malfi" (Playbill.com)

"Rarely seen 'Duchess' arrives on the local scene," Boston Globe feature

Merchant of Venice Reviews and Features:

"...very relevant today...this Merchant simply compels" -Jared Bowen, Greater Boston WGBH TV

"Kissel's Shylock is a wonderful creation, embodying hurt and rage and a dismal glee...Walsh brings a stolid dignity to his role" -Killian Melloy, EDGE

" [ASP is] smart and committed to contemporary fast-moving mountings of the Bard's plays...sharply considered production..." -Iris Fanger, The Patriot Ledger

"ASP, as always, does the comedy right...ringingly funny" -Miss Conduct, The Boston Globe

"The teasing, boudoir-bound comedy...is particularly charming and lusty...a bold, fleet production,"
Carolyn Clay, Boston Phoenix

"Merchant delivers the goods...[Kissel's] Shylock qualifies as a theatrical seismic event"
Jenna Scherer, The Boston Herald

"...Kissel bristles with pent-up frustration, anger, and a bitter sense of triumph...[Newhouse] infuses Portia with intellegence and spunk" Terry Byrne, The Boston Globe

"Putting a spotlight on a stereotype," By Michael Paulson, Boston Globe feature

King John Reviews

"Rarely-staged ‘King John’ shows Shakespeare in top form," The Edge (bostonherald.com), By Jenna Scherer
"Channeling Shakespeare," Boston Phoenix, by Carolyn Clay

King John Features

"An inspired setting for 'King John'," Boston Globe, by Terry Byrne

Tempest Reviews:

Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal
Louise Kennedy, Boston Globe
Frank Rizzo, Variety
Jennifer Bubriski, EDGEBoston
Iris Fanger, Patriot Ledger
Carolyn Clay, Boston Phoenix
Jess Pease, PlayShakespeare
Margaret Smith, Community Newspapers
Brian Jewell, Bay Windows
Jenna Scherer, Weekly Dig
Sandy McDonald, Theatermania
Elisabeth Riba, Riba Rambles

Henry V Reviews:

"Henry V' is spare but richly told," Louise Kennedy, Boston Globe 1-17-2008
"A happy few bring life to ’Henry V’," Jenna Scherer, Boston Herald 1-15-2008
"Henry V," Kilian Melloy, EDGE Boston 1-14-2008
"'Henry V' is first rate'" Margaret Smith, Community Newspapers 1-16-2008
"War Games," Carolyn Clay, Boston Phoenix 1-16-2008
Bard in Boston 1-13-2008
"Henry V by 5,"  Elizabeth Riba, Rambles Reviews 1-17-2008
"Henry V," Larry Stark, Theater Mirror, 1-18-2008
"Complex task: Five actors tackle 30 roles in subdued ‘Henry V’,"
Iris Fanger, Patriot Ledger, 1-16-2008

Macbeth Features:

“Tackling Male Emotions in an All-Female Macbeth,” Boston Globe
“Hocus Pocus: Gender Twist on a Shakespearean Classic,” EDGE Boston

Macbeth Reviews:

“A Provocative Macbeth,” Boston Globe
“After the Fall,” Boston Phoenix
“Macbeth,” Edge Boston
“Macbeth” Weekly Dig
“Sisters are Doin’ it for Themselves” The Hub Review

Love's Labour's Lost Reviews:

"Shakespeare's gone slap-happy," By Louise Kennedy, Boston Globe
"Love’s Labour’s Lost," by Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston
"That’s amore," by Carolyn Clay, Boston Phoenix
"ASP's Love's Labour's Lost," Bard in Boston

Titus Andronicus Reviews:

"This 'Titus' chooses power over parody," By Louise Kennedy, Boston Globe
"Out on a Limb," by Carolyn Clay, Boston Phoenix
"Titus Andronicus," by Kilian Melloy, Edge Boston
"‘Titus’ a memorable catalogue of atrocity," by Iris Fanger, Patriot Ledger
"'Andronicus' Sets a Somber Tone in Garage," ByAda Pema, Harvard Crimson

TITUS ANDRONICUS NOMINATED FOR 5 ELIOT NORTON AWARDS!
Best Production · Best Director  ~ David R. Gammons  · Best Actor ~ Robert Walsh · Best Lighting Design ~ Jeff Adelberg · Best Sound Design ~ Cam Willard

Titus Andronicus Features:

Edge Boston's Interview with Titus Andronicus Director David Gammons
"It's a man's world:   Actors' Shakespeare Project's all-male Titus Andronicus," by Liza Weisstuch, Boston Globe, Mar 16, 2007

The Winter's Tale Reviews:

"Wacky delights scattered in 'Winter's Tale'," by Louise Kennedy, Boston Globe, Feb 2, 2007
" Tyrants’ tales," by Carolyn Clay, Boston Phoenix, Feb 01, 2007
"The Winter’s Tale," by Sandy MacDonald, EDGE Boston, Monday Jan 29, 2007
"Rambles Reviews: Winter's Tale," by Lis Riba, Riba Rambles
"The Winter's Tale," by Larry Stark, TheaterMirror
"Half-told Tale," by Thomas Garvey, The Hub Review
Boston Globe's preview of The Winter's Tale

Hamlet Reviews:

"Players' prince:  ASP Hamlet takes the Strand stage," by Ed Siegel, Boston Phoenix, October 26, 2006
"In a ghostly setting, a 'Hamlet' rages, roars, and little more," by Louise Kennedy, Boston Globe, October 26, 2006
"Innovative Strand cast brings Hamlet to the people," by Chris Harding, Dorchester Reporter, October 26, 2006

General

ASP makes the Boston Phoenix "Best on the Boards" 2005!
ASP King Lear and Measure for Measure EDGE Best of Boston 2005
New York Magazine on Alvin Epstein's King Lear: "Best Great Performance New York Missed" 

Reviews--All's Well that Ends Well:

"Laughs abound in 'All's Well'," Boston Globe by Ed Siegel
"Love and War," Boston Phoenix by Carolyn Clay

Reviews--Twelfth Night:

"Troupe gives 'Twelfth Night' all the right shadings," Boston Globe by Louise Kennedy
"12th Night," Theater Mirror by Will Stackman

Feature Articles--Twelfth Night:

"Playing the fool: Kenny Raskin takes his comic skills to 'Twelfth Night'," Boston Globe by Louise Kennedy

Reviews--King Lear:

"This 'King Lear' rules with impeccable execution," Boston Globe by Louise Kennedy
"King Lear," Variety.Com, by Frank Rizzo
"Parent Traps," Boston Phoenix by Carolyn Clay
"Terror, Up Close and Personal," Wall Street Journal by Terry Teachout (10/14, no web version)
"A Compelling Lear," WBUR.org by Bill Marx
"King Lear," Edge Boston by Sandy MacDonald
"‘King Lear' full of heartbreaking humanity," Patriot Ledger by John Lehman
'King Lear," TheaterMirror by Larry Stark

Feature Articles--King Lear:

"King Lear, at last," Boston Globe by Maureen Dezell
" Mount Lear," Boston Phoenix    by Sally Cragin