press

Praise for Theophilus North:

"Director Alexander Gelman’s production with Organic Theater Company is whimsically minimal and strikes all the nuances of Wilder’s tale with great wit and charm."

-Jason Rost Chicago Theater Beat

"...its charms unfold with quiet insistence and understated warmth."

-Kerry Reid Chicago Tribune

"Gelman’s fluid, seven-member cast whip up some intoxicating, period-perfect storytelling, propelling the pell-mell plot with all the briskness, brightness, and timing it deserves.  At the center of this sweet storm is Bryan Wakefield’s richly supple portrayal of Theophilus.  Wakefield’s instigator/protagonist is like a schooner with all the sails unfurled, tacking into the wind or full speed ahead.  He gets splendid support from, among others, Ryan Massie as a Newport elder with a rare intellectual appetite, Josh Anderson as a Cockney companion, Kristina Cottone as an ingénue in love with a gym teacher, and Colin Jackson as a shy adolescent with a “fear of being overestimated” who blooms when he pretends to be the King of France."

- Lawrence Bommer Chicago Stage Style

"Burnett preserved that mood by finding clever ways to let Wilder's narrative voice come through, as when the town of Newport, Rhode Island, gets to give a little speech about itself or a car reacts to being sold. Alexander Gelman's Organic Theater production is just as clever, using very few props to conjure a great many things. His young actors are personable, too."

-Tony Adler Chicago Reader

Praise for the Naked King:

"The six-member cast have fun playing foppish courtiers, like Colin Jackson’s officious Minister of Tender Feelings and Ryan Massie’s court poet for hire, as well as flattering fops, easily scandalized ladies-in-waiting, and subservient subjects.  Terrence McClellan’s comical set, a series of colorful and skewed picture frames, sets the right tone for some sweetly silly summer fluff."

-Lawrence Bommer Chicago Stage Style

“Alexander Gelman’s staging keeps the action afloat, utilizing every possible exit of the Greenhouse space to its full comedic potential.”

-Jason Rost Chicago Theater Beat