SIMON LEVY

Writer/Director

QUOTES/REVIEWS

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THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANYMORE (2007) - Director

L.A. Weekly - GO! - "SUPERB! - Director Simon Levy and a terrific cast headed by Karen Kondazian do a magnificent job of bringing this black comedy to life. The production design is as superb as the cast." - Sandra Ross

Back Stage West - CRITIC'S PICK! - "Fascinating production! - Director Simon Levy skillfully manages to make this world of isolation, privilege, deception, lust, and hallucination work as a richly textured whole." - Wenzel Jones

L.A. Times – “TALENTED CAST! – The Fountain Theatre’s new production lunges into this problematic play with energy and enthusiasm… the cast is deliciously game.” – David Ng

CurtainUp.com - "It's getting the best performance it's likely to have at the Fountain Theatre under the direction of Simon Levy, whose intuitive understanding of the playwright has earned him exceptional privileges from the vigilant Williams estate." - Laura Hitchcock

IN Magazine - "COURAGEOUS! - Levy's handsomely staged production (awesome set by Travis Gale Lewis, fine costumes by Shon Le Blanc, marvelous lighting by Kathi O'Donohue, superb sound effects by David B. Marling) is crisply professional. Kondazian is a consummate actress... Rodgers is superb... Pelikan brings welcome down-to-earth realism to her role... Rhino Michaels, Dominic Acosta and Lauren Silvi offer fine support. Valiant production under Simon Levy's assured direction." - Les Spindle

MASTER CLASS (2007) - Director

Santa Barbara News-Press - "KONDAZIAN DAZZLES! It's easy to see why Kondazian won an Ovation Award for this role... The Santa Barbara Theatre production provides the rare pleasure of watching one virtuoso portray another... Under Simon Levy's direction, the three students also do fine work... Of the three productions of the play I have seen, this one EXEMPLIFIES WHAT CALLAS STOOD FOR." - Tom Jacobs

CASA Santa Barbara - "A MASTERFUL MASTER CLASS!... Karen Kondazian is mercurial, mesmerizing... [she] displays her mastery, her artistry in the role... DIRECTOR SIMON LEVY HAS ORCHESTRATED THE PLAY PERFECTLY!" - Alex Henteloff

The Independent - "ENTERTAINING AND MOVING!... Karen Kondazian was wonderful... GENIUS PRODUCTION... BRILLIANT!" - Charles Donelan

Special to CASA - "BRILLIANT PERFORMANCE... Under the direction of Simon Levy, Karen Kondazian DAZZLED the Lobero audience... hitting the STANDING OVATION button at the finale. BRAVO!" - Hedda Moneycuts

THE GREAT GATSBY (2006) - Writer

Seattle Post-Intelligencer - "SEATTLE REP SUPERBLY MINES THE ESSENCE OF FITZGERALD'S 'GREAT GATSBY'... Playwright Simon Levy does a BEAUTIFUL JOB of distilling Fitzgerald's sometimes fussy prose. Levy's combination of narration, dialogue and action delivers most of what is best in the novel... BEAUTIFUL... STUNNING... AMAZING... A BRILLIANT DISTILLATION." - Joe Adcock

Minneapolis StarTribune - "GREAT START FOR NEW GUTHRIE!... in a new stage adaptation that provoked historic excitement... a clean, imaginative and sometimes surreal work... a production that is FLEET-FOOTED and, thankfully, not freighted with theatrical froufou." - Rohan Preston

The Falcon Newspaper - "A STUNNING PERFORMANCE... artfully synthesizing the writer's renowned work onto the stage with Simon Levy's adapted script... With these colorful and profound characters, the dramatic performance engages the audience both in laughter and in genuine sympathy. BOLD AND ENTICING, the intense and convincing acting, the simple yet fitting sets, and the elaborate costumes all add to the EXCELLENCE OF THIS PRODUCTION. THIS PLAY GIVES LIFE TO FITZGERALD'S TIMELESS STORY." - Sara Lee

Variety - "SWEEPING... EXCELLENT... AN UNDENIABLE CHEMISTRY AT WORK HERE THAT'S LAUDABLE... Levy's adaptation wisely anchors itself around the first-person account of narrator Nick Carraway... A SATISFYING CONCLUSION... AFFECTING!" - Quinton Skinner

Performing Arts - "A CLASSY AND ELEGANT PRODUCTION THAT IS CAPTIVATING AND MOVING... The Guthrie's dramatization of this classic was BEAUTIFULLY ORCHESTRATED." - Terry Rindfleisch

Post-Bulletin - "IT'S NOTHING LESS THAN MAGNIFICENT, a powerful realization of Fitzgerald's novel of obsession, love, money and the American dream. There's no question that 'Gatsby' has all the elements of GREAT THEATER... a grand christening of the main stage in the Guthrie's $125 million new home." - Jay Furst

Tacoma Weekly - "A BRILLIANT REWORKING!... the only play version authorized by the Fitzgerald estate since 1926... The use of the Saxman to establish mood was a great touch... MAGNIFICENT." - Peg Doman

Seattle Gay News - "'GREAT GATSBY' CONTINUES TO PACK IN CROWDS AT SEATTLE REP PREMIERE... The Seattle Repertory has one of its strongest audience hits in recent years with its solid solid production... AN OUT-AND-OUT AUDIENCE PLEASER AND A HOT TICKET!" - Milton W. Hamlin

St. Cloud Times - "'The Great Gatsby' SUCCEEDS BEAUTIFULLY with its haunting quality. It is a fitting play to open the new Guthrie, leading the theater on to conquer new dramatic heights... You could feel the excitement in the air with Simon Levy's carefully honed adaptation." - Christopher Trussell

THE GIMMICK (2006) - Director

CRITIC'S CHOICE! - Los Angeles Times

"RIVETING AND INSPIRING! ELEGANT AND POETIC! This solo piece is guaranteed to touch the soul of anyone who's ever aspired to a better life. With understated supplemental music and lighting, Simon Levy's staging deftly showcases his performer's talents to best advantage... Orlandersmith's performance mines brutally honest anguish, longing and beauty that transcend time and place in a voice all her own. In the end, she leaves us heartbroken, stirred and above all GRATEFUL FOR LETTING US INTO HER WORLD." - Philip Brandes

CRITIC'S PICK! - Back Stage West

"INTENSELY INTIMATE AND POWERFUL!

With pulsing physicality and a visceral embrace of language... Orlandersmith has such a strong connection to her material that it's impossible not to be completely drawn in; HER WORDS AND PRESENCE ARE INESCAPABLE... Simon Levy directs, and the production makes beautiful use of lighting by Kathi O'Donohue and sound by David B. Marling." - Jennie Webb

Hollywood Reporter - "SPELLBINDING! POWERFUL! POETIC! Orlandersmith combines the riveting personal power of a Maya Angelou with the theatrical command of a professionally trained actress... Orlandersmith is more than a charismatic talker; she is physically gifted as well. BRILLIANT!" - Lawrence Vittes

WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ - (2005-2007) - Writer/Director

(An Electronic Published Version of the play is available for $10.00 at http://fountaintheatre.com/buytickets.html.)

Adelaide Fringe Festival Production (2007):

Winner - Advertister Fringe Festival Award

Nominated - Adelaide Drama Critics Circle Award

THE ADVERTISER 5 Stars! - "PITHY, POLITICAL, DARK HUMOUR - Simon Levy's play based on Eliot Weinberger's essay arrives in Adelaide with a delicious Australian touch. IT'S FAST, FIERY, PITHY AND DRENCHED IN FEROCIOUS IRONY - an up-to-date litany of the spurious justifications the world has endured about the war on Iraq. In her directorial debut, Martha Lott presents a tight, professional production. The cast sits on a series of television sets in front of a big screen and on top of a brilliant newspaper floor. It's all focus and timing as they machinegun their reportage . . . IT'S A SNAZZY AGITPROP SHOW, DESTINED TO BE A FRINGE HIT."

THE ADVERTISER - "In a Fringe program awash with tired and decidedly unfunny comedians, it's refreshing to see A THEATRE PIECE OF THE QUALITY AND POWER of "What I heard about Iraq". I am certain none in the large audience last night allowed their attention to wander for even a second so much had this production to say. There is no room - even for Howard supporters - to hide. For my money, "What I heard about Iraq" is sure to be AMONG THE BEST OF THIS YEAR'S STAND-ALONE FRINGE FESTIVAL!"

Edinburgh Fringe Festival Production (2006):

Winner - Fringe First Award

SCOTSMAN 4 Stars! - "OF ALL the verbatim and documentary shows on this year's Fringe, What I Heard About Iraq - adapted by Simon Levy from a ground-breaking London Review of Books article by Eliot Weinberger - must be the most straightforwardly news-based, best-organised and most exhilaratingly sure-footed and hard-hitting. BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED, BEAUTIFULLY PERFORMED, POWERFULLY DIRECTED."

THE GUARDIAN 4 Stars! - "POWERFUL! It makes you question just about everything you've heard and read. REAL IMMEDIACY!"

LONDON EVENING STANDARD 4 Stars! - "That rare thing, an IMPASSIONED and DYNAMIC piece of verbatim theatre."

METRO 4 Stars! - "This is a stark, powerful piece!"

EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS 4 Stars! - "GRIPPING AND THRILLING POLITICAL THEATRE."

THE STAGE 4 Stars! - "Compelling stuff... A strong piece of theatre."

BROADWAY BABY 4 Stars! - "Likely to become one of the Fringe's MOST TALKED ABOUT SHOWS, and rightly so."

EDINBURGH FRINGE INDEX 4 Stars! - "Another POWERFUL piece about George Bush's War on Terror."

SCOTSGAY MAGAZINE 5 Stars! - "One of the unexpected HIGHLIGHTS of this year's Fringe."

Los Angeles Production (2005/2006):

LOS ANGELES TIMES ****RECOMMENDED! - "SUPERB! STUNNING! COMPELLING! ... FIERCE IN ITS ANTIWAR BLOW... Levy's razor-sharp staging features superb production elements [with a] KEENLY CALIBRATED ENSEMBLE... Levy is clearly a man on a mission, and his passionately antiwar play is unapologetically biased. AN OFTEN STUNNING DISTILLATION OF AMERICAN HUBRIS AND DENIAL, 'WHAT I HEARD ABOUT IRAQ' SHOULD BE VIEWED WITH AN OPEN MIND, REGARDLESS OF POLITICAL AFFILIATION." - F. Kathleen Foley

L.A. WEEKLY ****RECOMMENDED! - GO! - "Director Simon Levy smoothly orchestrates his adaptation [with] five VERSATILE ACTORS... THE WORK TAKES ON AN URGENT LIFE ALL ITS OWN AS WE RE-EXPERIENCE THE ADMINISTRATION'S LUNATIC HUBRIS.- Steven Mikulan

VARIETY - "EXTRAORDINARY PERFORMERS! SPINE-CHILLING!... Their fluidly directed interplay encompasses overlapping dialogue as they pitch lines to each other with the precision of baseball stars... A CRY OF OUTRAGE delivered by five actors, exposing the deceptive strategies and heartless acts of violence perpetrated by the Bush administration." - Joel Hirschhorn

AMERICAN RADIO NETWORK (KCLA, KLAS, KPRO-AM, KMAX-AM) ****CRITIC'S PICK! "A MUST SEE EVENT!... Simon Levy has adapted this brilliantly and directs as well... SENSATIONAL five member ensemble... performing various roles they vividly bring to life... IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOUR POLITICAL POINT OF VIEW IS, THE PLAY IS CONTEMPLATIVE, PROVOKING, SMART, CLEVER, WITTY, AND FASCINATING." - Gerri Garner

MetroLA ****RECOMMENDED! - "THE WRITING, DIRECTION AND PERFORMANCE LEVELS ARE UNIFORMLY TOP NOTCH!... You can't sit through this COMPELLING EVENING without being moved, angered, and hopefully charged to take some individual action." - Jerry Jackson

BACK STAGE WEST - "A RALLYING CRY to end the war quickly, but few of our responsible leaders seem willing to adopt that position anytime soon. Instead we are forced to look back in sadness at a tragedy for which, unfortunately, we all bear some responsibility and look ahead with trepidation to the final acts of this epic drama." - Hoyt Hilsman

ENTERTAINMENT TODAY ****CRITIC’S PICK! - “The Fountain’s Simon Levy has tackled the obscenity of the Iraqi war and the unbelievable death toll that rises there each day. WHAT I HEARD… IS AN IMPORTANT PRODUCTION. – Travis Michael Holder

ACCOMPLICE (2005) – Director

L.A. Times - "RICH, SATISFYING BLEND OF COMEDY AND SUSPENSE!... This is a mystery in quotation marks, and director Simon Levy REVELS IN ITS EXCESSES WITH ALMOST CARTOONISH GLEE!" - Rob Kendt

Variety - "AMUSING!... DIRECTOR SIMON LEVY HAS ENOUGH INTUITIVE SENSE NOT TO LET THE PROCEEDINGS DESCEND INTO HYSTERIA OR SLAPSTICK, AND HE STAGES A ROUSING, IF CONVOLUTED, CLIMAX COMPLETE WITH... 'Accomplice' has a final twist, making it one of the few plays to recruit a surprise --- ...." [that's all we can tell you here, you'll have to see it to find out!] - Joel Hirschhorn

Back Stage West - ****CRITIC'S PICK! - "LAUGH-OUT-LOUD!... The challenge for any critic reviewing this HIGHLY ENTERTAINING SHOW is how to talk about its quality without spoiling any of its twists and turns. DIRECTOR SIMON LEVY DOES AN ADMIRABLE JOB OF KEEPING THE MYRIAD RED HERRINGS SWIMMING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTIONS, AND HE REAPS THE BENEFITS FROM AN ADEPT CAST... This is the sort of show 'word of mouth' is made for; if you see it, you will want to tell your theatregoing friends about how enjoyable it is." - Terry Morgan

Daily News - ***(3 stars!) - "MYSTERY LOVES YOUR COMPANY IN 'ACCOMPLICE'!... Simon Levy's production at the Colony has four performers who are enthusiastically game for the Ira Levin-meets-Noel Coward style of performance Holmes' play calls for... 'Accomplice' enjoys its games. AND AT THE COLONY, WE CAN DELIGHT IN THE GAMES' EXECUTION." - Evan Henerson

CurtainUp - "Rupert Holmes' DEFT, DAFFY, COMPLEX COMEDY OF TERRORS which is given the SPIFFY PRODUCTION it deserves by the Colony Theatre. DIRECTOR SIMON LEVY GIVES FULL MEASURE OF CHILLS AND CHUCKLES AND HAS A SENSE OF THE FEYDEAU-ESQUE FARCICAL BLOCKING SO ESSENTIAL TO MAKING THIS PLAY PRANCE SLYLY AND LASCIVIOUSLY ALONG." – Laura Hitchcock

AWAKE AND SING (2004) – Director

Los Angeles Times - ****Recommended! - "Hard times movingly depicted in 'Awake'... DIRECTOR SIMON LEVY'S SOLID STAGING of Odets' second play, "Awake and Sing," for International City Theatre in Long Beach effectively marries the drama's broader themes to its nuanced portrait of struggling lower-class Bronx Jews during the great Depression."

Variety - “ICT's staging, HELMED WITH IMPRESSIVE ATTENTION TO DETAIL BY SIMON LEVY, captures the suffocating lack of opportunity that cripples a poverty-stricken Jewish immigrant family… Levy's efforts to qualify the personality of each character are aided immensely by Don Llewellyn's beautifully detailed setting. ICT AND HELMER SIMON ARE TO BE LAUDED for so effectively underscoring the playwright's agenda."

Back Stage West - ****Critic's Pick! - "A FLAWLESS INTERNATIONAL CITY THEATRE ENSEMBLE, GUIDED BY THE INFORMED DIRECTION OF SIMON LEVY, brings this haunting material to life and screams it to the rafters."

LA Weekly - ****Recommended! - "VIBRANT ENSEMBLE WORK distinguishes International City Theater’s production of Clifford Odets’ 1934 play about the soul-crushing effects of poverty... There’s no period mustiness here SIMON LEVY DIRECTS WITH VERVE, ELICITING TOP-NOTCH PERFORMANCES FROM THE ENTIRE CAST."

DAISY IN THE DREAMTIME (2004) – Director

Los Angeles Times - ****Critics’ Choice! – “The enormity of the tragedy inflicted on Australia’s Aborigines during the early 20th century hits home with STUNNING IMPACT… UNDER SIMON LEVY’S SAVVY DIRECTION, THIS FOUNTAIN THEATRE PRODUCTION INFUSES HISTORY WITH VISCERAL URGENCY… the riveting Lisa Pelikan evokes a complex, finely nuanced portrait… and the supporting cast consistently impress… LEVY MAKES THIS A FELT WORLD rather than an intellectual concept, which makes the Aborigines’ fate all the more poignant.”

Variety - “Effective in this Fountain Theatre preem are helmer SIMON LEVY'S INTUITIVE STAGING, Lisa Pelikan's transcendent portrayal in the title role, an outstanding supporting cast and the HAUNTINGLY EVOCATIVE, SYNERGISTIC PRODUCTION DESIGNS."

Back Stage West - ****Critic’s Pick! – “There are plays that teach us much about a subject, there are plays that move us deeply, and there are plays that nimbly achieve both. But RARELY DO WE FIND A PLAY LIKE LYNNE KAUFMAN'S DAISY IN THE DREAMTIME, which richly satisfies these two hungers and also achieves something nearly impossible: providing us with an invaluable key into a world that seems permanently sealed off to us by the very structure of our minds... With THIS AMBITIOUS PRODUCTION, ALL ELEMENTS COMBINE to bid us entry into this world: a uniformly stellar cast; SIMON LEVY'S INSPIRED DIRECTION.”

KABC Radio - “SUPERBLY DIRECTED, AS USUAL, BY THE FOUNTAIN’S SIMON LEVY, who directed last year’s marvelous ‘Going to St. Ives’ and this year’s ‘Master Class.’ …A POWERFUL NEW PLAY!”

Entertainment Today - ****CRITIC'S PICK!... directed by the Fountain's MEGA-TALENTED PRODUCING DIRECTOR SIMON LEVY and starring the gifted Lisa Pelikan... this epic, remarkably challenging presentation features STUNNING PRODUCTION VALUES, instantly sweeping the audience into another world. Levy's direction is taut and impeccable... THIS IS TRULY AN AWARD WORTHY PRODUCTION!"

MASTER CLASS (2003/2004) - Director

Los Angeles Times - ****Recommended! – “Less a master class than a wrenchingly cathartic life lesson, DIRECTOR SIMON LEVY'S HANDSOME, INTIMATE NEW REVIVAL of Terrence McNally's play reaches convincing emotional extremes in the fearless performance of Karen Kondazian as diva Maria Callas.”

Hollywood Reporter - “SUPERB PRODUCTION!... When Karen Kondazian sweeps onstage as opera diva Maria Callas, you can almost hear a purr of satisfaction run through the audience: This is going to be good – fireworks, tonight!… But Kondazian offers something more in this revival, which is what makes it special. This is Callas as Callas herself might have played the role – unsparing, raw, vulnerable and richly dramatic… THE TRIP WE TAKE WITH CALLAS, UNDER SIMON LEVY’S ARTFUL DIRECTION, IS AN EXHILARATING ONE!”

Back Stage West - ****Critic's Pick! - "MESMERIZING! THIS TRIBUTE IS STUNNINGLY RE-ENACTED! CALLAS HAS FOUND A NEW TEAM OF SAVIORS IN DIRECTOR SIMON LEVY AND HIS OWN PERSONAL DIVA, Karen Kondazian, who brings a glorious new life to the demanding role."

L.A. Weekly - ****Recommended! - "KAREN KONDAZIAN DELIVERS A SUPERB PERFORMANCE AS MARIA CALLAS! Under Simon Levy's direction, Kondazian has enormous stage presence!"

Daily News - ***1/2 - "HIGH ART! - Kondazian, under the beautifully paced staging of Simon Levy, literally seizes the Fountain stage as Maria Callas... She has it all: the accent, the attitude, the tormented isolation... an impressive performance! - A MASTERWORK!"

KABC Radio - “LIGHTING UP THE STAGE AT THE FOUNTAIN THEATRE - As far as I'm concerned, the year ends here. Because it seems highly unlikely that in the next 11 months I'll see a performance to top Karen Kondazian's dazzling portrayal of opera diva Maria Callas in Master Class… UNDER THE SUPERB DIRECTION OF SIMON LEVY.”

Easy Reader - "MY PICK FOR 2003’s BEST SMALL THEATRE PRODUCTION & BEST ACTRESS! – “This is a MUST for anyone who loves great writing, memorable insights into humanity and terrific performances (Kondazian seems a shoe-in for best Actress Nominations). And if you also happen to enjoy opera even a little – well, then, don’t wait – grab the phone and make reservations before it’s sold out. Brava Divas Callas and Kondazian, and Bravo, author McNally… SIMON LEVY’S DIRECTION IS ABSOLUTELY SUPERCHARGED, YET CREATES A NATURALISTIC FEELING FRAMING DAZZLING PERFORMANCES!”

Quotes for shows prior to 2004 Available Upon Request.

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