Poor Clare

Winner of 8 LA Drama Critics Circle Awards:

Direction – Alana Dietze 
Production – Kelly Beech, Chris Fields and Rachael Zambias 
Writing – Chiara Atik 
Lead Performance – Jordan Hull 
Featured Performance – Ann Noble
Featured Performance – Michael Sturgis
Ensemble Performance – Trinity Catlin, Martica De Cardenas, Tony DeCarlo, Kari Lee Cartwright, Jordan Hull, Ann Noble, Michael Sturgis, Donna Zadeh
Lighting Design – Azra King-Abadi 
Nomination for Costume Design – Dianne K. Graebner
 

TicketHolders Awards
WINNER: Best Production  – Poor Clare
RUNNER-UP: Best Actress in a Play – Jordan Hull – Poor Clare
RUNNER-UP: Best Supporting Actor in a Play – Michael Sturgis – Poor Clare
RUNNER-UP: Best Supporting Actress in a Play – Ann Noble – Poor Clare
RUNNER-UP: Best Playwright – Chiara Atik – Poor Clare
RUNNER-UP: Direction of a Play – Alana Dietze – Poor Clare
RUNNER-UP: Best Costume Design – Dianne K. Graebner – Poor Clare
RUNNER-UP: Best Sound Design – Jeff Gardner – Poor Clare

Robby Awards:
NOMINATION: Albert Lord Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy – Michael Sturgis, Poor Clare
NOMINATION: Dee Croxton Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy – Ann Noble, Poor Clare
NOMINATION: Garland Riddle Award for Best Costume Design – Dianne K. Graebner, Poor Clare

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10 Reasons to be grateful for theater in 2021
"Chiara Atik’s deliciously eccentric saint’s play, set in a 13th century Italian town, couldn’t have felt any more contemporary, thanks in no small measure to the timeless radiance of Jordan Hull (“The L Word: Generation Q”). Her portrayal of Clare of Assisi may have spoken in the clipped cadences of a spoiled Brentwood teen, but the example of another future saint, Francis (a delightfully outré Michael Sturgis), forces her to rethink her privilege in a society as riven by economic inequality as our own. This Echo Theater production continued the company’s tradition of balancing quirky comedy with social conscience."  -- Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times 
“CHARMINGLY DAFFY… a saint’s play served up as an offbeat comedy millennials can believe in...In the radiant humanity of Hull’s tender-funny portrayal, true benevolence seems miraculously within reach”— Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times

Ticket Holders LA 
“INFECTIOUS FUN… Under the sharply-tuned direction of Alana Dietze and featuring an excellent and committed ensemble cast, the debut of Atik’s fresh and uncharted take on the classic story shines with the sparkle of a newly polished diamond… an instant classic.” — Travis Holder, Ticket Holders LA
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Gia On The Move 
“INCISIVE AND ENTERTAINING… All the production elements work in harmony…  It all adds up to a colorful elaboration of a great story.”— Deborah Klugman, Gia On The Move, LADCC

Broadway World 
“INSPIRED… SPARKLING… ASTUTE… fizzy and dazzlingly delightful dialogue… rife with humor and pathos.” — Harker Jones, Broadway World, LADCC

Stage and Cinema 
“STUPENDOUS… compelling, robust and very funny.” — Tony Frankel, Stage and Cinema

Larchmont Buzz 
“MOVING…RAUCUS AND HILARIOUS… [and] TIMELY… Successful as a comedy, a biographical portrait and a representational morality play, it’s truly a religious experience…. EXCEPTIONAL” — Laura Foti Cohen, Larchmont Buzz

Theatre Notes 
“AN ASTONISHING NEW PIECE OF THEATRE… a real feast for the eyes… Is it funny? Oh yes!” — Paul Myrvold, Theatre Notes

Stage Scene LA 
“WOW!... As unexpectedly deep as it is consistently delightful… the incandescent [Jordan] Hull and an all-around fabulous supporting cast, in particular Michael Sturgis’s irresistible Francis, elicit laugh after laugh from Atik’s audacious but effective script.” — Steven Stanley, Stage Scene LA

On Stage Los Angeles 
“ENGAGING… A STRONG POLEMIC… It, like, imagines Assisi, Italy, Circa 1211 or so… It's OMG, the Middle Ages.” — Michael Sheehan, On Stage Los Angeles

People’s World 
“AFFECTING AND POWERFUL, EXTREMELY FUNNY… sharp, snappy, arch dialogue… The mashup of today’s language with 13th-century Assisi is a stunning choice, as well as the source of our clarity in recognizing truths —Eric Gordon, People’s World

The Hollywood Times 
“POWERFUL AND VERY FUNNY”,— Jim Gilles, The Hollywood Times