Reviews for the playwright/performer Bill Connington for his show ZOMBIE:
"Shocking...a chilling one-man study of perversity...Mr. Connington commits totally to this haunting characterization and leaves us wondering exactly what kind of people are walking the streets alongside us."
--Anita Gates, The New York Times, Feb. 23, 2009
"Some free advice to anyone going to see ZOMBIE. Sit in the back. Bill Connington, who adapted the solo show from Joyce Carol Oates' novella, perfectly counterfeits the experience of sitting in a room with a serial killer, which is even less comfortable than it sounds. the show's 75 minutes are best spent as far away as possible from the actor, whose ingenious performance gives the skin-crawling piece such an authentic texture that the artificiality of the light and sound changes are a welcome reminder of the outside world . . . Connington in not interested in performing a whodunit (he did it, after all) but in re-creating a truly evil character down to the last detail. Thus, for the entire play, the actor seems to be channeling the weirdness of an utterly amoral psychopath. . . . For the faint of heart, the talkback afterward is highly recommended, if for no other reason than to see Connington revealed as a friendly, nice-seeming guy who's unlikely to chase you down 42nd Street after the show . . . When Quentin turns to speak to the audience, we really feel we're in the presence of someone morally empty . . . It's hard to overstate the effectiveness of Connington's unblinking gaze, weird cadence and surprising, off-kilter swearing."
--Sam Thielman, Variety, Feb. 23, 2009
"Harrowing . . . Connington delivers a haunting characterization . . . unnerving . . . The piece is further enhanced by Thomas Caruso's intense staging."
--Frank Scheck, New York Post, August 18, 2008
"Not for the faint of heart . . . rewards intrepid theatergoers, delivering a haunting glimpse into the mind of a serial killer . . . Connington takes center stage . . . under the sure-handed direction of Thomas Caruso."
--Andy Propst, The Village Voice, August 11, 2008
"Ripped-from-the-headlines . . . mines the twisted psyche of a Jeffrey Dahmeresque young man . . . Connington acts this creature chillingly."
--Robert Windeler, Back Stage, August 12, 2008
"Great . . . [Bill Connington] is scarily good . . . murderously good . . . powerful."
--Claudia La Rocco, WNYC Radio, August 21, 2008
"Almost unbearably intense . . . Mr. Connington generates a galvanizing friction between control and abandon . . . [Connington as Quentin] is either the most monstrous tragedy or the most tragic monster in recent memory."
--Eric Grode, The New York Sun, August 21, 2008
"We are taken into Quentin's confidence and hear a story of almost unbearable horror . . . [Connington's] commitment to playing Quentin without stepping back and judging the man's behavior gives us the illusion of meeting and listening to a psychopath laying all of his cards on the table. We become a surrogate psychiatrist, or God forbid, a best friend Quentin feels he can trust with the unvarnished truth of what he desires and what he has done . . . Connington's performance is simply extraordinary."
-- Joe Meyers, The Connecticut Post, August 10, 2008
" . . . but actor Bill Connington is so terrifyingly ordinary, so captivatingly creepy in his role of Quentin P that it's impossible to look away. As he describes the procedures he undertakes to operate on his victims, you find yourself utterly entranced, as disgusted with yourself for watching as you are with the freak in front of you.
And make no mistake - Connington is a freak. And I mean that in the best possible way. He soulless stare is so, well, soulless that it's like staring into a moral black hole. When he booms his fury at seeing a prospective zombie "strutting like a proud cock" before a group of young girls, you find yourself quaking in fear despite his 100-pound frame. Word on the street is he's so convincing that even his friends find it hard to be around him after a show. Even Oates was hesitant to shake his hand."
--Andrew Turner, StageandCinema.com, March 6, 2009
Reviews for the director/choreographer Rachel Klein:
“There are certain directors whose work is instantly recognizable. Having seen a few Rachel Klein productions, I would add her to this list. Klein's productions feature an otherworldly feel, highlighted by odd costume pieces, choreographed movement, and a bold, non-realistic acting style.”
-Bryn Harrison, Stagebuzz (Hound) 2009
“Rachel Klein brings a heap of experience -- in ballet, clowning and acrobatics -- to the plays she works on. Her direction of the recent All Kinds of Shifty Villains showed an original mix of grace and slapstick that stretched the comedy and made for some clever theatrical surprises.”
– Tom Murrin, Paper Magazine, 2008
“…Rachel Klein Productions excerpt from The Tragedy of Maria Macabre which brought a group of zany characters in front of the audience to tell a visually stunning tale of disillusion”
-Michael Roderick, Broadway World
(The Tragedy of Maria Macabre) 2010
"The space illuminates with the gothic contortions of Klein’s company"
-Rachel Simhon, the Avant Gaurdian
(The Tragedy of Maria Macabre) 2010
“Burlesque and ’80s horror meet at last”
-Timeout New York (Stage Blood is Never Enough) 2009
“Like a 1980s Judith Krantz bestseller getting the Wes Craven treatment.”
-FlavorPill (Stage Blood is Never Enough) 2009
“Director Rachel Klein again shows a flair for genre theater.”
- Joe Bendel, JB Spins (Hound) 2009
“Director/chroeographer Rachel Klein's numbers are what make Go-Go Killers! truly fun.”
- Patricia Contino, Flavorpill (Go-Go Killers!) 2009
“What makes it special is Rachel Klein’s deft direction and hilarious and inspired choreography.”
-Teresa Jusino, Pink Raygun (Go-Go Killers!) 2009
"Directed and choreographed by Rachel Klein, both of the evening’s pieces are dominated by their movement, and executed with accomplished nuance, from the creepy mannequin stirrings of Sir Sheever to the amazing dream ballet and reenacted video sequences included in the twisted Aenigma.”
- Dana Lang, OffOffOnline.com (Something Weird...) 2008
"It is to Klein's credit that each piece retains a distinct aesthetic, from color palette to sound design to campy dances.”
- Megin Jimenez, NYTheatre.com (Something Weird...) 2008
"Klein's funny, inventive, and occasionally eye-opening choreography - not as in dancing, but as in stylized and sometimes acrobatic movement, especially fight scenes and love scenes.”
- Jon Sobel, blogcritics.org (All Kinds of Shifty Villains) 2008
"That the deadpan delivery and physical screwball comedy coexist naturally is a marvel on behalf of the playwright as well as director Rachel Klein, whose exaggerated sex-kitten poses for leading lady Precious Jones and slapstick fight sequences inspire many well-deserved laughs.”
- Ronni Reich, Backstage (All Kinds of Shifty Villains) 2008
(Jun 6, 2010)