the world premiere of Seared by Theresa Rebeck at San Francisco Playhouse
“The steam is rising from a bubbling pot when you walk into San Francisco Playhouse for the world premiere of ‘Seared,’ and if you arrive early enough, get close to the stage and have sharp olfactory receptors, you’ll sniff the aroma of sizzling garlic and onions. Since this play is a commission by Theresa Rebeck, it’s not just the food in the functioning kitchen of Bill English’s set design that sizzles. ‘Seared,’ which opened Saturday, under the taut direction of Margarett Perry, starts on high heat and gets only hotter.”
“CULINARY DRAMA DONE TO PERFECTION!”
— San Francisco Chronicle
“For the Kitchen's beautifully appointed production (scenic design by Gary Smoot), director Margarett Perry skillfully, almost musically, guides the winning cast of three through the time-shifting structure.”
— Syracuse Post Standard
“Not all the stand-outs are human. This fantastical musical odyssey gets a boost from dozens of puppets — flapping birds, blooming flowers, blind mice, a gingerbread man (tortured by human soldiers brandishing spatulas and rolling pins) and a gorgeously scary dragon who exists in segments of head, wings and tail and is whisked about the stage like a Chinese kite. You’ll be a believer!”
— Hartford Courant
"Martinez’s play, directed by Margarett Perry, shows how imagination is an act of compassion, how asking, “What must it have been like for you?” humanizes those whom we would make other or lesser. Martinez, who fled Cuba as a child in 1980, is astute about how life under an authoritarian government, where you’re always being watched and anyone in your life might betray you at any time, is a bit like being trapped inside an absurdist play.”
— San Francisco Chronicle
"At last! A real, grown-up American play! It poses its ethical dilemmas with a fierce intelligence, creating a slippery drama that is full of meat. Margarett Perry's production is slick and smart, and the three performances are spot-on. Something to really chew on."
— The Guardian ★★★★
"With a powerhouse NYC cast, propelled by Margarett Perry's taut, daring direction, the Kitchen Theatre's current production simply soars: it will be talked about for years."
— Tompkins Weekly
“Just terrific. Most satisfying ensemble show I've seen in the area in way too long. Sherman Fracher was at her best (and you can't ask for better than that), the entire ensemble was beautifully woven and I long to see more of director Margarett Perry's work”
— River City News
“Ferociously articulate dialogue in a hail of David Mamet-ian Testosterone Speak. Sharp performances across the board. A fairy tale for our time!”
— The New York Times
“The world premiere of Education couldn’t be more welcome or timely. Though set in Ohio, the characters would be right at home shoulder to shoulder with the students of Parkland. It grabs attention from the moment the lights come up. Written by Brian Dykstra. The script is close to flawless with flowing dialogue and wonderfully developed characters."
— Theatre Pizazz
"It goes great places! Margarett Perry keeps the tone light, but the lightness is mostly a counterpoint to Dykstra's bleak assessment. It's a grim play with a happy face, and when it really gets down to business, it makes an uncomfortable amount of sense."
world premiere of A Play On Words by Brian Dykstra at 59e59 Theaters, NYC
— Variety
“An hour of perfectly-crafted, deeply intelligent and supremely witty Fringe entertainment.”
world premiere of Shortlist by Brian Parks at Assembly Festival, Edinburgh
— The Scotman ★★★★
"Under the delicate direction of Margarett Perry, Howe's humorous, touching tale is well-secured…Very engaging. Heartbreaking."
Painting Churches by Tina Howe at The Human Race Theatre Company
— Dayton City Paper, Critics Pick and DayTony Award, Best Production
"A Triumph. A sharp, hilarious, and heartfelt work that offers a new take on the age-old mysteries of love and loss. Dykstra has been blessed with a capable and intuitive director in Perry, who has shaped his story into a lean character-driven vehicle for their three main actors."
world premiere of Spill the Wine by Brian Dykstra at GayFest NYC
— NYTheatre, Critics Pick
"Margarett Perry directs, with the same creativity she brought to "A Marriage Minuet," "Private Lives," "Chesapeake," "Strangerhorse" and other shows here. This time, the stage looks much like the Kitchen did when it was being remodeled: an interior construction site, complete with metal braces, ladder, plastic buckets and cables on spools... and, thanks to Perry and designer David L. Arsenault (set and lights), absolutely versatile... Transformation is the play's means as well as its theme -- a wall folds down into a bed for an intimate scene; an unnoticed truck door opens for loading equipment; a tiered metal trolley becomes Gus's rickety pickup; and in a stroke of comic genius, a mobile toolbox drawer becomes a backyard grill where Gus, absurd in lobster apron (costumes by Hannah Kochman), barbecues hot dogs."
world premiere of Call Me Waldo (co-production with the Working Theatre in NYC & the Kitchen Theatre in Ithaca)
— Ithaca Journal
"Hugely entertaining. Quick-fire lethal satire…a hilarious comic takedown of American life."
The House by Brian Parks at The Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh