Reviews

FORGED: A review by Todd DePalma

http://stylusmagazine.com/articles/lefthandpath/005-full-moon.htm

The January 5th show at New York's Abrons Arts Center was another triumph for the Ballet Deviare dance company, now entering its fourth year of existence. Forged, the group's second live production, opened very nearly on the anniversary of their NYC debut, Seven, last year. Once again confronted by such a unique and outright daring idea (ballet choreographed to the tunes of Opeth, My Dying Bride, and Arsis), it was gratifying to witness the fits of trepidation quickly annihilated by the cast through their sensual steps amid the fog and tranquil lights of the theatre….

…With elegant restraint, Forged opened to the brooding tones of Celestiial's "Waldländer im Herbst." The nine-minute piece unfolded through a dark and slothful rhythm, using woodland sounds and bear-like yawns, which some remarked as frightening, but helped create a haze of almost mythical wonder. Seemingly inside the belly of this bestial sonance, encased in chilling green light, a circle had formed of slender, arched backs facing the audience. One by one, more dancers slowly entered the scene—a kind of pantomime that embodied the procession of loon calls and ominous brush of strings groaning over the sound system. Throughout the evening this precision not only of rhythm (often set within furious speed) and form (with much incredible, sustained pointe work and turns) but of emotion, propelled the show with a vivid and remarkable expressionism.

Shivering piles of women lay across the stage, fatally set in a crimson glow to the Gothic moans of the UK's My Dying Bride; screams shattered the silence of observation and bodies with their long hair unleashed, launched one after the other to the raging guitar sweeps of Arsis' "A Diamond for Disease." Opeth's "Deliverance" (which has never been as captivating on its own) once again served as the basis for another brilliant display of grace and aggression. It was all they needed to secure a rousing ovation at the evening's close….

"CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF"

by Tennessee William, directed by Clay Hopper

THE THEATER MIRROR, New England's LIVE Theater Guide

http://www.theatermirror.com/cchfbucr.htm

… Diana Kesselschmidt laid on the heat with her near-tropical lighting; her spotting of “Echo Valley” turned a mere liquor stand into a sparkling, multi-tiered calliope of bottles and glasses --- no wonder Brick didn’t stray too far from it. ….

STAGE REVIEW - Revisiting a complicated Monticello

By Gina Perille, Boston Globe, 12/11/2003

© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.

…Gail Astrid Buckley's warm-toned costumes radiate under the precise lights of Diana Kesselschmidt…

"What Happened in Boston, Willie"  Reviews of Current Productions

note: entire contents copyright 2003 by Carl A. Rossi

http://www.theatermirror.com/CRmbpt.htm

Diana Kesselschmidt’s lighting drains the warmth and color from the stage to underline key passages...