“This excellent group effort speaks well for director Cara Gabriel, [who shows] a great understanding of making a play dynamic by constantly rotating entrances and exits.”
“Props, tools, and toys (including a fine ice cream cart) add to the experience, as is easily seen by observing an audience of children rapt with attention and adults eager to find the fun.”
“The work is in excellent hands in the production. Director Gabriel coaxes some humor out of what some might expect to be a too-dour classical approach.”
“UrbanArias delivers a physical, aural, and emotional journey in their brilliant interpretation of Elvis Costello and the Brodsky Quartet’s The Juliet Letters.
“Director Cara Gabriel and Conductor Robert Wood have created a wholly original interpretation of Costello’s quixotic exploration of love in all its facets: raw, wanting, hurting, grasping, embracing, soaring, sorrowing.
“Synchronized movement [staged by Gabriel], balletic in its control and strength, is a hallmark of this ensemble. Scrabbling about the stage in one sketch, helter-skelter physical cacophony ripens in a later sketch to lover’s embracing, and further on into a stillness marking the final loss of love, chillingly and heartbreakingly illustrated by the folding of a cloak as a flag to mark the ultimate passing.”
“Director Cara Gabriel’s production outlines a distinct place, time and household dynamic, and some sequences capture the poignancy of McCullers’s coming-of-age tale, which evokes Frankie’s anguished longing to both escape her small-town surroundings and become a full participant in the adult world.”
“Under the fine direction of Cara Gabriel, each character is fleshed out in a way that the novel merely hints at and each actor brings a sense of the ambiguity of adulthood to their role.”
“Carson McCullers’ 1950 stage version of her novel written in 1946 is lovingly directed by Cara Gabriel. This production seem[s] almost effortless, soft, and evocative of a time and place very few people remember any more.”
“The tender loving care in Cara Gabriel’s direction is evident everywhere.”
“Sensitively directed by Cara Gabriel, the 1st Stage production of The Member of the Wedding is far more than about a lonely 12-year old girl named Frankie.”
“The Keegan Theatre’s production of Shaina Taub’s new musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” is as close to perfect as any production that has appeared in Washington this year. Every element works, and all work well together.”
“The enterprise is frisky and pointedly inclusive in terms of re-conceived characters and casting.”
“As the cast dances in the aisles of Keegan Theatre, it’s difficult not to catch the contagious, rose-colored energy from this musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s As You Like It by Shaina Taub and Laurie Woolery… This musical that serves up positive messages of growth and acceptance, As You Like It is also a visual delight. With a stage setup that places audience members close to the action, it’s like sitting in the middle of a fairytale pop-up book adorned in vines, flowers, and fairy lights.”
“As You Like It has been around since roughly 1599—that’s about 420 years of reruns of the same show. So it’s both a happy coincidence and somewhat of a shock that one of the best versions is being put on in a small Dupont theatre during November of 2018… It’s a meticulous play that spares no detail or expense, nor does it overlook any single word, note, quirk, dance move or fight scene. This contemporary remix of Shakespeare’s classic is well worth your time.”
“…the work extends an appealingly personal and idiosyncratic vision, rich in telling detail. The title may reference forgetting, but the play often seems as clear and specific as a total-recall memory… Director Cara Gabriel capitalizes on that specificity in her production, which unfurls on, and around, an evocation of a wooden house built on stilts over the sea.”
“Director Cara Gabriel keeps a nice balance between the immediacy of the domestic turmoil and the theological discussions on religion and cultural coercion.”
“Director Cara Gabriel does an excellent job of making the most of the limited space on the pier as the actors move ever-closer to the edge, both physically and emotionally.”