Reviews Archives

The Express calls See How We Are "brilliant"!

posted by Cheshire on Wed, Oct 14, 2009

The East Bay Express gave a glowing review to See How We Are! Critic Rachel Snow calls the show "brilliant" with "an extremely well-crafted script," and praises the cast, set, costumes, and sound. She also notes the recent spate of updated Greek classics and calls ours "the best of the bunch." Read the whole review.

Only three performances left -- don't miss it!

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The critics are happy to go through Puberty!

posted by Cheshire on Wed, May 13, 2009

The critics have spoken: "Uncomfortable moments make for terrific comedy," says the East Bay Express, and the show is full of "quick, entertaining bits, good clean off-color fun," writes the Berkeley Daily Planet. Join us for an awkwardly hilarious good time!

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Raves, raves, and more raves for Midsummer!

posted by Cheshire on Fri, Mar 6, 2009

The raves are piling up for Midsummer. Make sure to get your tickets in advance!

"CRITIC'S CHOICE! The '80s theme works divinely... Clever, trendy, and funny without sacrificing too much of the source material or underestimating the audience's intelligence."
—East Bay Express (read review / critic's choice)

"Impact Theatre takes Midsummer on a wild ride through '80s music, the fads and even a movie reference or two to raucous new heights... The leads are captivating and even the supporting characters are a riot... Director Melissa Hillman has truly crafted a great show."
—Daily Cal (read review)

"4 out of 5 stars! ...the lovers, led by Marissa Keltie’s blissfully acute Helena, and the play-within-a-play are very funny and most of the snarky ad-libs are irresistible"
—SF Chronicle (read review)

"Starred Review! ...this mixture of iambic pentameter, irresistible pop tunes, neon wallpaper, and stonewashed denim is uncannily apt."
—SF Bay Guardian (read review)

"Great music, bad hair, and one heck of a lot of fun...this show is fast and furious"
—PlayShakespeare.com (read review)

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The Daily Cal loves Midsummer!

posted by Cheshire on Thu, Feb 19, 2009

The Daily Cal review has come in, and it's a rave as well: "Impact Theatre takes Midsummer on a wild ride through '80s music, the fads and even a movie reference or two to raucous new heights... Shakespeare's written comedy thrives in the '80s nightclub, but the casting of each character into an '80s staple (punk, metalhead, goth, prep) makes the show even more clever.... The leads are captivating and even the supporting characters are a riot. With the ragtag band of actors, the play-within-a-play at the end is a hilarious climax... Director Melissa Hillman has truly crafted a great show... The adaptation speaks to the timelessness of Shakespeare and the possibility to entertain and amuse an audience of all ages, regardless of their fondness or knowledge of the bard.... Who knew that William Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream would lend itself so well to the rom-com milieu of the 1980s?" Read the whole thing.

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Midsummer reviews begin

posted by Cheshire on Thu, Feb 19, 2009

The first review has come in, a rave from Vox Theatricum's blog: "I’ve seen this play many times and I, personally, don’t remember laughing as much as I did at this performance... It’s amazing how a play that was written 400 years ago can, it seems, have so much to say about other times and places. I don’t want to over-analyze it, but I’ll likely be going back to check it out again. If nothing else, I’m sure it will be another entertaining evening." Read the whole thing.

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CCC: "Whip-smart and very funny"

posted by Cheshire on Tue, Sep 16, 2008

The East Bay Express's review of Ching Chong Chinaman is out, and Sam Hurwitt gave us a rave as well: "Whip-smart and very funny, in a snappy production by Desdemona Chiang with a strong cast... Particularly clever is Yee's deft use of magical realism, as embodied by Pearl Wong in a multitude of roles... The journey's so thoroughly enjoyable that one's just sorry to see it end."

He then goes on to compare our show with Amy Tan's opera, currently playing across the bay, and concludes, "As Chinese-American family sagas go, give me the low-rent send-up in the pizzeria basement any day." Read the whole review.

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"CCC makes hilarious splash in melting pot!"

posted by Cheshire on Fri, Sep 12, 2008

Pat Craig of the Contra Costa Times has posted his review of Ching Chong Chinaman, and it's another rave! "Fresh, funny comedy... The Impact Theatre production does a wonderful job of taking the sensitive issue of ethnic identity and tearing it to shreds... The cast plays the script beautifully, with an understated sense of parody that makes the lines all the more hilarious... Director Desdemona Chiang has paced the play well and infused it with wildly funny sight gags — and with the help of the tech staff, has included some apt and funny surprises at almost every turn." Read the whole review, then get your tickets online so you guarantee your seats. We're turning lots of people away at the door this weekend -- don't be one of them!

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CCC: "Fast, furious, and very funny!"

posted by Cheshire on Thu, Sep 11, 2008

Ken Bullock of the Berkeley Daily Planet has published his review of Ching Chong Chinaman, and it's 100% rave: "a wild ride -- fast, furious and very funny...on all levels, it’s an exhilarating send-up of that Yankee mock-up and fixation, Tradition." Read the whole review.

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CCC: "Great laughs and unexpectedly moving!"

posted by Cheshire on Sat, Sep 6, 2008

The first review has already come out for Ching Chong Chinaman, and it's a rave from Chad Jones of Examiner.com: "Gleefully irreverent, audaciously un-PC comedy...great laughs...unexpectedly moving... consistently defies sitcom rhythms and continually takes surprising turns." Chad also had some very nice things to say about the improvements we made over the summer. Read the whole review here.

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"Ten blocks and yet light years away..."

posted by Cheshire on Wed, Mar 5, 2008

The East Bay Express also loves Jukebox Stories: The Case of the Creamy Foam, especially in comparison to another current theatre offering nearby.

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"A sure crowd-pleaser!"

posted by Cheshire on Sat, Dec 1, 2007

So says Sam Hurwitt of A Very Special Money & Run Winter Season Holiday Special in the East Bay Express. He also says it's "pretty damn entertaining" and "more fun than your average holiday offering."

While we're on the subject, Ken Bullock of the Berkeley Daily Planet said the show is "hysterical" and that the cast "does well, with Jeremy Forbing’s direction, in this burlesque of road and buddy pics, caper flicks, and pious holiday fare."

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Chad Jones likes Sleepy!

posted by Cheshire on Mon, Sep 10, 2007

Chad Jones of the Oakland Tribune posted his review of Sleepy yesterday, and he gives it three stars out of four, writing: "Director Dawn Monique Williams and her six actors--Gabriel A. Ross, Pamela Davis, Seth Thygesen, Marissa Keltie, John Terrell and Jessica Kiely--keep us on the verge of expecting the unexpected, which is a perfectly fine place to be for the show’s brisk 60 minutes.... By play’s end, everyone is seeing ghosts or feeling something sinister lurking unseen in the corners. And with that uneasy feeling, Impact and Sleepy send us happily into the real world of darkness outside the theater walls."

Read the whole review on Chad's excellent theatre blog, Theater Dogs.

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More great reviews for Measure

posted by Cheshire on Sat, Apr 28, 2007

The praise is continuing to roll in...

"The three central performances in Hillman's production are rock solid.... Hillman has a few tricks up her sleeve, and even if it means re-writing Shakespeare in the play’s final moments, let it be said that her inventions seem much more in tune with the violent, hot-tempered tone of the play."
--Oakland Tribune (read review)

"[Jeremy Forbing] is in all ways hilarious as Lucio.... Get ready for a shocking final few seconds. Think the ending of The Departed, where everything can turn on a dime, and leave you stunned, silent, and frozen before your next breath.... I can tell you right now, it isn’t what you think."
--PlayShakespeare.com (read review)

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Well...?

posted by Cheshire on Sat, Apr 21, 2007

What did you think of Measure for Measure?

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Now on the Splatter Board: YOUR review of Cartoon

posted by Cheshire on Thu, Feb 8, 2007

Everyone's a critic, right? Well, prove it by letting us know what you thought of Cartoon on the Impact Splatter Board. Log in and praise or damn as you like.

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More raves for Colorado!

posted by Cheshire on Thu, Sep 28, 2006

Colorado continues to rack up the compliments! UC Berkeley's Daily Cal can't say enough nice things -- here are just a few: "Colorado is a must-see...deliciously deranged...wickedly funny...a smart, beautifully written piece of theatre." Read the whole thing.

The Oakland Tribune says, "We expect certain things from Colorado: big laughs, twisted subject matter and a provocative surprise or two. Nachtrieb is a skillful writer, and the new play delivers on all counts..."

The Trib also ran a teen perspective on the play (Leslie Ribovich, the teen reviewer, is going to shows along with the paper's main theatre critic, Chad Jones). Leslie crows about the show's "raw, hilarious family drama," and she was wowed overall: "I'd never seen a show at Impact and am really impressed with the quality of the production. Impact creates a whole theatrical experience."

Sam Hurwitt of the East Bay Express filed a capsule review this week. Here's our favorite excerpt: "...the dialogue contains enough belly laughs to carry the show, and newcomer Elkhanah Pulitzer's production delivers them handily. Adrienne Papp is a knockout as the MIA terror in a tiara, all sugar and spite and vicious superficiality, and Klahr Thorsen shows where the venom comes from as the brittle, sympathy-pie-hoarding mother. Joshua Huston is funny and endearing as introverted brother Travis..."

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Raves for Colorado!

posted by Cheshire on Mon, Sep 25, 2006

"INSPIRED COMEDY... funny, sassy, and often penetrating... Nachtrieb has a keen eye for the ridiculous excesses in American culture."--San Francisco Chronicle

"HUGELY FUNNY... examines the world of marriage and family with a lethally loving eye... Nachtrieb has his finger on the pulse of the suburban zeitgeist... Director Elkhanah Pulitzer has paced the show to sizzle."--Contra Costa Times

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