The Recital
Anthony Robinson, NoPro's Top Moments of 2019:
"Chatting with Simon’s Ex-girlfriend Before The Recital"During that fun-filled moment when the doors to a show first open and you’re awkwardly trying to figure out where to turn your attention, it’s great when someone reaches out and helps to steer you towards the drink table. In this particular moment, it was both a blessing and a curse to get chatted up by Jen (played by Alana Dietze), the seemingly self-absorbed violinist and ex-girlfriend of former prodigy Simon. During an intense couple of minutes, it felt like I was having a genuine reunion with an old college acquaintance. The wine-fueled gossip reminded me of the LA parties where you’re cornered by someone puffing themselves up, ladling out biting tidbits (in this case about Simon’s fall from the spotlight), and taking your measure, all the while scanning the room for someone better to be “seen” with. Jen ended up having to excuse herself to refill her drink after eyeing Simon’s current girlfriend, in a moment that was so natural that I did a double take when she started up the exact same conversation with another audience member."
photos by Annie Lesser
"PICK OF THE WEEK: Every once in a while you come across a show that is so full of emotion, comedy, deep melancholy, and joyous soul that it hits the right notes on multiple levels. If you’re lucky, it’s wonderfully acted, smartly executed, full of a sense of love and keeps you well in the world. The Recital is just that show." - Anthony Robinson, No Proscenium
GLORIA
by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Directed by Chris Fields
with the Echo Theater Company
photo by Darrett Sanders
Los Angeles Times
"CRITIC'S CHOICE: STUNNING… sharp-eyed dramatic intelligence… bitingly funny… a potent Echo Theater Company production”
— Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times
KCRW 89.9 FM
“FUNNY AND CLEVER… BUT THERE’S SOMETHING ELSE… Mr. Jacob-Jenkins is trying to make us examine something deeper than the sensational. He’s asking us, like any great playwright, to consider how we treat one another and what we value as a culture.” — Anthony Byrnes, KCRW 89.9 FM
Stage Raw
“RECOMMENDED… STAGE RAW TOP TEN… smartly-etched characters, caustic dialogue and a single startling surprise.” — Deborah Klugman,Stage Raw
On Stage and Screen
“DEEP, NUANCED, EMOTIONAL… jacobs-Jenkins’s writing is quite subtle and smart” — Erin Conley, On Stage and Screen
People’s World
"RAZOR SHARP, DARKLY COMIC… [a] biting, courageous contemplation of the ways we have conditioned ourselves to be fame-seekers… [To miss it] would be a regrettable loss ”” — Eric Gordon, People’s World
Broadway World
“UNFORGETTABLE… the energy's crackling electric… razor-sharp disses and truthful observations” — Gil Kaan, Broadway World
Stage Scene LA
“WOW!... Chris Field directs Gloria’s West Coast Premiere with precision, power, and lickety-split pacing, and the performances he elicits are some of the very best in town… Echo Theater Company at its most excitingly cutting-edge.” — Steven Stanley, Stage Scene LA
LA Observed
“RIVETING… As Echo's work creates more and more echoes in the LA theater, its artistic director Chris Fields stages "Gloria" flawlessly.” — Don Shirley, LA Observed
Stage and Cinema
“[A] KNOCKOUT… unsettling, shocking and funny… thought-provoking, gut-churning, blood-pounding theater” — Tony Frankel. Stage and Cinema
Showmag
“EVERY BIT AS VICIOUS AS IT IS HILARIOUS… a remarkable ensemble… yet another pitch-perfect production from the Echo Theater Company.” — Michael Van Duzer, Showmag
USC Annenberg Media
“NEVER-ENDING WIT AND BITING CULTURAL COMMENTARY… gifts the cast with such cleverly crafted, multifaceted monologues, arias if you will, effectively orchestrated by Fields” — Aja Houston, USC Annenberg Media
On Stage Los Angeles
“DIALOGUE AND CHARACTERS THAT SIZZLE” — Michael Sheehan, On Stage Los Angeles
"CRITIC'S CHOICE: STUNNING… sharp-eyed dramatic intelligence… bitingly funny… a potent Echo Theater Company production”
— Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times
KCRW 89.9 FM
“FUNNY AND CLEVER… BUT THERE’S SOMETHING ELSE… Mr. Jacob-Jenkins is trying to make us examine something deeper than the sensational. He’s asking us, like any great playwright, to consider how we treat one another and what we value as a culture.” — Anthony Byrnes, KCRW 89.9 FM
Stage Raw
“RECOMMENDED… STAGE RAW TOP TEN… smartly-etched characters, caustic dialogue and a single startling surprise.” — Deborah Klugman,Stage Raw
On Stage and Screen
“DEEP, NUANCED, EMOTIONAL… jacobs-Jenkins’s writing is quite subtle and smart” — Erin Conley, On Stage and Screen
People’s World
"RAZOR SHARP, DARKLY COMIC… [a] biting, courageous contemplation of the ways we have conditioned ourselves to be fame-seekers… [To miss it] would be a regrettable loss ”” — Eric Gordon, People’s World
Broadway World
“UNFORGETTABLE… the energy's crackling electric… razor-sharp disses and truthful observations” — Gil Kaan, Broadway World
Stage Scene LA
“WOW!... Chris Field directs Gloria’s West Coast Premiere with precision, power, and lickety-split pacing, and the performances he elicits are some of the very best in town… Echo Theater Company at its most excitingly cutting-edge.” — Steven Stanley, Stage Scene LA
LA Observed
“RIVETING… As Echo's work creates more and more echoes in the LA theater, its artistic director Chris Fields stages "Gloria" flawlessly.” — Don Shirley, LA Observed
Stage and Cinema
“[A] KNOCKOUT… unsettling, shocking and funny… thought-provoking, gut-churning, blood-pounding theater” — Tony Frankel. Stage and Cinema
Showmag
“EVERY BIT AS VICIOUS AS IT IS HILARIOUS… a remarkable ensemble… yet another pitch-perfect production from the Echo Theater Company.” — Michael Van Duzer, Showmag
USC Annenberg Media
“NEVER-ENDING WIT AND BITING CULTURAL COMMENTARY… gifts the cast with such cleverly crafted, multifaceted monologues, arias if you will, effectively orchestrated by Fields” — Aja Houston, USC Annenberg Media
On Stage Los Angeles
“DIALOGUE AND CHARACTERS THAT SIZZLE” — Michael Sheehan, On Stage Los Angeles
AN UNDIVIDED HEART
by Yusuf Toropov
directed by Chris Fields
with the Echo Theater Company
"A searing performance...Dietze’s mesmerizing work as the embittered Lynne imbues the woman’s Job-like suffering with an anger and a ferocity that is finely balanced at the threshold of the blackest comedy."
-Bill Raden, LA Weekly
"Scenes between Dietze and Miller as they struggle to cope with losses and prepare for the seeming inevitability of more particularly shine. Dietze and Wright also develop an unexpected and lovely dynamic, their characters forever bonded over the tragedy that occurs the night they first meet.”
-Erin Conley, On Stage & Screen
"Special praise must be given, however, to the on-stage dynamics between Lynne (Alana Dietze) and her mother Ruth (Sigute Miller), who create heartbreak with every word they exchange and every silence they leave behind.”
-Sam Cavalcanti, USC Annenberg Media
"Wright’s menschy Max and Dietze’s piss-and-vinegar Lynne are both splendid, and even more so when instant dislike finds itself transformed.”
-Steven Stanley, Stage Scene LA
"The action kicks off with a bang when the scene shifts to a conflict between Lynne (the extraordinary, fierce Alana Dietze), the operator of a local dump,…”
-Paul Myrvold, Theatre Notes
-Bill Raden, LA Weekly
"Scenes between Dietze and Miller as they struggle to cope with losses and prepare for the seeming inevitability of more particularly shine. Dietze and Wright also develop an unexpected and lovely dynamic, their characters forever bonded over the tragedy that occurs the night they first meet.”
-Erin Conley, On Stage & Screen
"Special praise must be given, however, to the on-stage dynamics between Lynne (Alana Dietze) and her mother Ruth (Sigute Miller), who create heartbreak with every word they exchange and every silence they leave behind.”
-Sam Cavalcanti, USC Annenberg Media
"Wright’s menschy Max and Dietze’s piss-and-vinegar Lynne are both splendid, and even more so when instant dislike finds itself transformed.”
-Steven Stanley, Stage Scene LA
"The action kicks off with a bang when the scene shifts to a conflict between Lynne (the extraordinary, fierce Alana Dietze), the operator of a local dump,…”
-Paul Myrvold, Theatre Notes
THE DEVIL'S WIFE
by Tom Jacobson
directed by Eric Hoff
with the Skylight Theater
" Alana Dietze easily seduces the male interloper (and the audience) as Dulce, the sweet sibling." --Broadway World
"Under Eric Hoff’s savvy direction, an all-around terrific cast
deliver one deliciously stylized performance after another, from
Neto’s haughty Bonita to Dietze’s saucy Dulce to Zeller’s ballsy Sofia to Wallin’s seductive Nicolas" --Stage Scene LA
"Both Neto and Dietze place the flaws of their deliberately
stereotypical characters front and center to create two very funny performances." --Showmag
"Eric Hoff’s assured direction keeps the action moving smoothly and quickly and the cast of four each get their moment to shine and shine they do." --Haines His Way
"In that all the characters come to vivid life earns praise not only for the cast and playwright but director Eric Hoff." --The World Through Night Tinted Glasses
"Under Eric Hoff’s savvy direction, an all-around terrific cast
deliver one deliciously stylized performance after another, from
Neto’s haughty Bonita to Dietze’s saucy Dulce to Zeller’s ballsy Sofia to Wallin’s seductive Nicolas" --Stage Scene LA
"Both Neto and Dietze place the flaws of their deliberately
stereotypical characters front and center to create two very funny performances." --Showmag
"Eric Hoff’s assured direction keeps the action moving smoothly and quickly and the cast of four each get their moment to shine and shine they do." --Haines His Way
"In that all the characters come to vivid life earns praise not only for the cast and playwright but director Eric Hoff." --The World Through Night Tinted Glasses
MACBETH
directed by Caitlin Hart
with the Vagrancy
"The performers work with energy and intelligent invention... Alana Dietze takes Lady Macbeth from whip to willow and back, and lets us watch her being led step by step out of her comfort zone (instead of just showing up crazy at the end)" --Theater Ghost
"Macbeth (Daniel Kaemon) and his bride (Alana Dietze) with their increasingly tangled relationship lies at the heart of the tragedy here. Again, the production avoids a common problem with doing Shakespeare's tragedies--in this, we actually feel the tragedy for the central characters, the tragic Hero (in this case, heroes since Lady Macbeth most certainly counts). We have a sense of what Might-Have-Been, namely if they had not fallen prey to temptation. More, their performances firmly portray the couple as young, vital, not yet mellowed by age, and crucially not only impatient but still hopeful for children...Perhaps most poignantly, part of the tragedy we feel is the permanent, growing rift between a husband and wife who seem happy at first, well-matched and genuinely in love. Until a momentous sin isolates them from each other and even themselves...Altogether a tour-de-force of creepiness, that accomplishes another difficult trick--making a very well known play feel fresh." -- David McDowell Blue, The World Through Night Tinted Glasses"
"Macbeth (Daniel Kaemon) and his bride (Alana Dietze) with their increasingly tangled relationship lies at the heart of the tragedy here. Again, the production avoids a common problem with doing Shakespeare's tragedies--in this, we actually feel the tragedy for the central characters, the tragic Hero (in this case, heroes since Lady Macbeth most certainly counts). We have a sense of what Might-Have-Been, namely if they had not fallen prey to temptation. More, their performances firmly portray the couple as young, vital, not yet mellowed by age, and crucially not only impatient but still hopeful for children...Perhaps most poignantly, part of the tragedy we feel is the permanent, growing rift between a husband and wife who seem happy at first, well-matched and genuinely in love. Until a momentous sin isolates them from each other and even themselves...Altogether a tour-de-force of creepiness, that accomplishes another difficult trick--making a very well known play feel fresh." -- David McDowell Blue, The World Through Night Tinted Glasses"
FUGUE
by Tommy Smith
directed by Chris Fields
with the Echo Theater Company
"A superb ensemble...standout Alana Dietze"
- Bill Raden, Stage Raw
"GO!...extraordinary"
- Deborah Klugman, LA Weekly
"Fascinating...excellent performances...an excellent production...provocative and dramatic" - On Stage Los Angeles
"Gutsy...superb performances"
- Willard Manus, TotalTheater
"One of the most provocative evenings of theater you're likely to experience for some time to come...challenging and gratifying...the cast assembled by Echo Theater simply could not be better...dynamic, gutsy work...It is above all an evening of theater at its most exciting, daring, and rewarding"
- Steven Stanley, StageSceneLA
possum carcass
by David Bucci
directed by Alina Phelan
with theatre of NOTE
"The divine Dietze
makes for a deliciously dark Lydia" -
Steven Stanley, StageSceneLA
makes for a deliciously dark Lydia" -
Steven Stanley, StageSceneLA
the echo one acts: general sherman's hollow body
written and directed by Wes Walker
with the echo theater company
“A pair of insurgent, Irish-immigrant-servant sisters (Alana Dietze and Jeanette McMahon in precision performances) look after the general” -- Bill Raden, Stage Raw
“The acting is superb, the mood fantastic and fascinating.”– Jason Rohrer, Stage and Cinema
“The acting is superb, the mood fantastic and fascinating.”– Jason Rohrer, Stage and Cinema
BOB
by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb
directed by Chris Fields
with the echo theater company
"Go see it by any means possible...This is one of the finest productions in Los Angeles this year...The direction, acting and design are all consistent with whatever useful definition of perfection may be devised on this earth...Everyone in the cast has a miraculous comedic sense... Alana Dietze (Chorus 1) has the ability to speak frankly about ordinary things, and in doing so, open the floodgates of her soul with such control and precision that it penetrates all barriers between the play and the audience with ballistic force...More impressive than any of their individual merits was the cast’s solidarity and collective unity of expression." -- Steven Christian Amendola, Life in LA
"Alana Dietze, Ahmed Best, Jacqueline Wright and Jud Williford play Nachtrieb’s zany, sometimes delightful creations. So likeable and eminently watchable is Dietze as the adoptive mother and Bob’s sole love interest that it’s maddening her characters just come and go like Alice in Wonderland. --Tony Frankel, Stage and Cinema
what may fall
by Peter Gil-Sheridan
directed by Mary Jo Duprey
with theatre of NOTE
“Dietze, as Mack’s wife, Jo, terrified and conflicted over what to do about her baby, also does fine work” – Evan Henerson, Backstage West
“Particularly effective turns are offered by…Dietze as a brittle wife.” – Paul Birchall, LA Weekly
“Dietze, Letherer, and Neiman stand out particularly in a weak-link-free cast” – Steven Stanley, StageSceneLA
“Particularly effective turns are offered by…Dietze as a brittle wife.” – Paul Birchall, LA Weekly
“Dietze, Letherer, and Neiman stand out particularly in a weak-link-free cast” – Steven Stanley, StageSceneLA
photo by Darrett Sanders
god's ear
by Jenny Schwartz
directed by Rory Kozoll
with the echo theater company
"Dietze is remarkable as the quirky, quizzical Lainie"
--Jennie Webb, Backstage
"Lainie (is) played by Alana Dietze in a true and touching performance"
-- Lucy Griffin,
Arts Beat LA
"As the miserable daughter, Alana Dietze does not pout or cry, brilliantly pushing the boundaries of restraint"
-- Jason Rohrer, StageHappenings
--Jennie Webb, Backstage
"Lainie (is) played by Alana Dietze in a true and touching performance"
-- Lucy Griffin,
Arts Beat LA
"As the miserable daughter, Alana Dietze does not pout or cry, brilliantly pushing the boundaries of restraint"
-- Jason Rohrer, StageHappenings
the pity of things: desert aria
by Delondra Williams
directed by Christopher Johnson
with theatre of NOTE
"Delondra Williams' 'Desert Aria,' an eerily gothic vignette starkly directed by Christopher William Johnson, is highlighted by a haunting monologue performed to perfection by Alana Dietze and a few scary interludes from a demented David Guerra"
-- Travis Michael Holder, Backstage West
-- Travis Michael Holder, Backstage West
everything will be different: a brief history of helen of troy
by Mark Schultz
directed by John Lawler
with the echo theater company
Ovation Nominations for:
Leading Actress
Production (Intimate Theater)
Ensemble
"Fearless...Dietze fully inhabits Charlotte's spiky persona, daring to risk alienating us before exposing her pain"
-- David C. Nichols, the LA Times
"This is an evening you won’t soon forget, especially the bravura performance by Alana Dietze.""a must-see performance by Alana Dietze"
--Tony Frankel, LA Stage and Cinema
"Alana Dietze, as Charlotte, gives a stunning performance."
-- Curve Wire
"Alana Dietze (Charlotte) carries the weight of this universe on her waifish shoulders. A riveting vulnerability flashes through an apathetic teenage facade, and what begins as humorous idiosyncrasy becomes a sad mask hiding an unbearable pain. This transformation is devastating. Everything Will Be Different is a stirring character study of this very specific person and the collaboration of playwright, director and actress makes us care about her."
-- Andrew Moore, Mad Theatrics Stage Blog
Leading Actress
Production (Intimate Theater)
Ensemble
"Fearless...Dietze fully inhabits Charlotte's spiky persona, daring to risk alienating us before exposing her pain"
-- David C. Nichols, the LA Times
"This is an evening you won’t soon forget, especially the bravura performance by Alana Dietze.""a must-see performance by Alana Dietze"
--Tony Frankel, LA Stage and Cinema
"Alana Dietze, as Charlotte, gives a stunning performance."
-- Curve Wire
"Alana Dietze (Charlotte) carries the weight of this universe on her waifish shoulders. A riveting vulnerability flashes through an apathetic teenage facade, and what begins as humorous idiosyncrasy becomes a sad mask hiding an unbearable pain. This transformation is devastating. Everything Will Be Different is a stirring character study of this very specific person and the collaboration of playwright, director and actress makes us care about her."
-- Andrew Moore, Mad Theatrics Stage Blog
lascivious something
by Sheila Callahan
directed by Paul Willis
with circle x theater company
“Game, brave actors...Dietze’s Boy is as pleasingly mysterious as the role’s conception”
-Variety
“The quartet of actors is superb, each outdoing the others in refining their characters and living honestly in the space...as a young creature who serves various needs, Alana Dietze beautifully unveils undercurrents of bisexuality and of teenage misery.”
-Backstage West
“Circle X’s production is first-rate; under Paul Willis’ sharp direction, the performances snap and crackle” – LA Times
-Variety
“The quartet of actors is superb, each outdoing the others in refining their characters and living honestly in the space...as a young creature who serves various needs, Alana Dietze beautifully unveils undercurrents of bisexuality and of teenage misery.”
-Backstage West
“Circle X’s production is first-rate; under Paul Willis’ sharp direction, the performances snap and crackle” – LA Times
doomsday kiss!
with REPO division and Bootleg Theater
“Wesley Walker’s hysterically devastating The Classroom (is) all some of us might need to die happy....Jacqueline Wright... Lily Holleman...and Dietze keep rock steady as they hurl surprise after surprise at us – which is, we now realize, just what we’ve been waiting for”
--Jennie Webb, Backstage West
“Anderson has developed wonderful characters for her short play, especially her female leads. Dietze has the most sympathetic character in the piece, and she handles the job effortlessly” – Mike Buzzelli, EyeSpyLA
--Jennie Webb, Backstage West
“Anderson has developed wonderful characters for her short play, especially her female leads. Dietze has the most sympathetic character in the piece, and she handles the job effortlessly” – Mike Buzzelli, EyeSpyLA
