Southern Comforts (Live Theatre Workshop) reviews...
Tucson Daily Star
Sheldon Metz directed with a sense of urgency and timing, giving the play a pace and tone that suited it perfectly....
“Southern Comforts” is a slight play — it’s not likely to stick with you after a few days. But it is a fun and funny play made more so thanks to this cast and director.
TUCSON WEEKLY- April 3, 2014
... this two-hour December-December romance, directed by Sheldon Metz, holds your attention from beginning to end. Metz also designed the functional set, which cleverly depicts domestic life before and after Amanda moves in with all her furniture and books
Collected Stories (Live Theatre Workshop) reviews...
On paper, Margulies' plays can be boring; the clever talk goes on and on, and nothing much happens. But when his work is performed by capable actors, something extraordinary takes place: Strong currents of emotion emerge from behind all the chatter, and you realize that you've witnessed pivotal changes in the characters' lives. Director Sheldon Metz has done well with his casting in LTW's production of Collected Stories. Veteran Tucson actor Cynthia Jeffery plays Ruth Steiner, a respected New York short-story writer and professor. Samantha Cormier takes on the part of Lisa, a young student and aspiring writer
Radium Girls (Beowulf Alley Theatre) reviews....
Director Sheldon Metz works hard to keep the energy flowing through the thicket of scene changes, the cast constantly moving props and resetting the stage, sometimes even before the preceding vignette’s conclusion.
Beauty Queen of Leenane reviews...
Domestic Dysfunction Take your pick of family horrors: Beowulf's Irish 'Beauty Queen,' ... (Tucson Weekly)The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Presented by Beowulf Alley Theatre Company.
Director Sheldon Metz has chosen an excellent cast and coaxed enthralling performances from them. Jeffery's performance as Mag is entirely free of mean-old-lady caricature. Every moment feels completely, repellently real. It takes courage to fully commit to such an unlikable character, and that integrity ultimately wins our sympathy, if not our love.
The Beauty Queen of LeenaneThe Beauty Queen of Leenane
... the most remarkable performance(Cynthia Jeffery) of the city’s entire theater season ...
THIS "BEAUTY QUEEN" PACKS A PUNCH
by Chuck GrahamLet the Show Begin (TucsonStage.com)
There is bleakness and bite in the Irish humor of Martin McDonagh's "The Beauty Queen of Leenane," now playing downtown at Beowulf Alley Theatre, 11 S. Sixth Ave. As director, Sheldon Metz finds his laughs in the hapless lives of four Irish villagers who aren't having much success trying to muddle through the daily challenges of their shabby existence...
Yet, neither Metz nor Jeffery sees the personality of Mag as one-dimensional. She is an aging woman alone in the world, with no resources. She is frightened at the prospects of an empty house.
Beauty Queen' a compelling, disturbing comedy
Kathleen Allen Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Friday, March 4, 2011
Medea, step aside. You ain't got nothin' on Mag, the mother in Martin McDonagh's "The Beauty Queen of Leenane."Mag is mean, malicious, malignant. And in Beowulf Alley Theatre Company's production, which opened Saturday, Cynthia Jeffery made every vicious bone in Mag's body pop.
It was very disturbing. ... this McDonagh play, directed by Sheldon Metz, is very disturbing...
But director Metz staged a production that presented the drama and the macabre without a heavy hand, kept the brogues on track, and showed a strong affection for and understanding of the work.
Tucson Weekly, March 17, 2010
Oleanna Presented by Etcetera at Live Theatre Workshop
Sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can rip you to pieces if you don't use them carefully.That might, in fact, be the most palatable lesson to be learned from Oleanna, now onstage as part of Live Theatre Workshop's Etcetera series.This is not a play for the faint of heart. There's no blood spilled (and there's surprisingly little swearing for a play by David Mamet), but the pain inflicted onstage is visceral, inescapable and likely to leave a mark on its viewers. And all of this suffering is brought to you through the brilliant work of director Sheldon Metz and his two-person powerhouse acting ensemble.
Metz has done an impressive job of leading his actors through this minefield. Not only do the actors bring meaning to the shattered dialogue; the production maintains a balance between the characters' perspectives. Both are right; both are wrong; and, as the play pushes to its explosive finish, neither character is innocent.
TucsonStage.com- March 18, 2010
"OLEANNA" REMINDS US HOW THE RULES HAVE CHANGED... Sheldon Metz has directed a crisp and clear production with Bill Epstein as John and Carly Preston as Carol...
Metz is adamant in seeking balance and showing the consequences of failure. He turns Mamet’s words into laser-beams of insight. We watch the progression of this battle from mincing politeness to slugfest, conducted in the squared ring of the professor’s office. His small desk looking pinched into a corner of the stage, reminding us academia isn’t the kingdom it used to be.
PROOF! reviews (L.A.)...
Del Rey News - Feb. 2008
... It's truly a breath of fresh air to see this group– in this case, the Kentwood Players at the Westchester
Playhouse -- as the site of a thought provoking dramatic play.
Although, it's not surprising since award-winning Sheldon
Metz is the director of David Auburn's Pulitzer Prize and
Tony Award-winning "Proof," an elegantly written and superbly acted drama about finding your way in life and navigating your way through a complex family.
(The story plays out on the back porch of the home, realistically designed by Metz. One could imagine that Metz had sliced off the porch, along with its trees, and moved it from Chicago onto the stage.)
Hometown News - Jan. 2008
...The cast attribute their sincere performances to director, Sheldon Metz. After working for 25 years with the Kentwood Players, this is Metz final production. His extensive background in theater and incredible talent are mirrored in this work.
Written on
Jan 14 2008 Kristine Flor Very moving, Very well performed and directed. We truly enjoyed it. 2 of 2 people found this review useful
Jan 14 2008 Liz K. I took my 14 year old (drama student) son to this show and we both were riveted. It was well written and very well acted and directed. We both left feeling completely satisfied and carried the play with us for hours after it ended.
