THE GRADUATE


By Administrator / December, 6, 2018 / 0 comments

THE GRADUATE
by Terry Johnson
Directed by Michael Matthews
Laguna Playhouse
Laguna Beach, CA
March 1-March 25, 2018

 

“…biting comedy splendidly directed by Michael Matthews.”

-LA TIMES

“Director Michael Matthews’ staging has plenty of visual pizzazz, and it moves along at a pleasingly rapid clip, punctuated by a welcome raft of rock and pop songs from the ’60s…”

-ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

“Matthews has integrated an elaborate roadmap to make the transitions between each vignette feel like mesmerizing bits of meticulously-choreographed theatrical staging—cleverly populating the mid-century modern-esque set with ensemble members and stagehands adorned in era-authentic costumes, while moving set pieces, furniture, and props as if they were omniscient, powerful unseen ghosts deciding exactly where the story goes next. While, yes, these transitions do act as distractions to the play’s shortcomings, they are, hands down, some of the most elaborate scene changes I have seen in a play in, probably, ever—that does add a coolness factor to the production I did not expect.”

-BROADWAY WORLD

“But, what makes Johnson’s adaptation and Matthews’ vision of “The Graduate” a highly recommended play is that it’s applaudingly not a carbon copy of the movie, and rather keeps us on our toes, surprising us in regard to how the characters’ intense wants are displayed and how the well-known account is uniquely carried out. It is a production that compellingly envelops us into its suburban stupor.”

-LA EXCITES