The Wolves
By Sarah DeLappe
The Echo Theater Company
March 2019
Scenic Design - Amanda Knehans
Costume Design - Elena Flores
Lighting Design - Rose Malone
Sound Design - Jeff Gardner
Photos by Darrett Sanders
LADCC Winner - Ensemble Performance
Ovation Nominations - Direction, Production (Intimate Theater), Ensemble
Stage Raw Nominations - Direction, Production, Ensemble, Supporting Female Performance
Best of 2019:
Anthony Byrnes, KCRW
"Alana Dietze brought “The Wolves” to life at Echo Theatre Company. A girl’s indoor soccer team reveals the complicated lives of teenage girls through the weekly routine of pre-game practice. Like many of the plays on this years list, this play is just the latest chapter in a longer journey. Ms. Dietze has directed a string of plays at the Echo, including “Dry Land” and “A Small Fire,” that have provided tender, poignant and fierce windows on the female experience. If you don’t know her work, you should."
Charles McNulty, The LA Times
"Through the overlapping dialogue of a high school girls’ soccer team, playwright Sarah DeLappe glimpses into the souls of her characters and, by extension, into the soul of the nation. Teamwork was the key to the Echo Theater Company production, which featured an unerringly naturalistic ensemble (under the direction of Alana Dietze) maneuvering with agility between the quotidian and the tragic. Review"
Read Mary Mcnamara's article on Hollywood's lack of representation of women in sports and how The Wolves is succeeding where the film and tv industry comes up short.
Listen to Marc Maron talk about the show on WTF starting around the 10:30 mark
http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-1016-dennis-quaid
Los Angeles Times - CRITIC'S CHOICE!
“STUNNING… a superb Echo Theater Company production” — Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times
KCRW 89.9 FM
“TENDER, POIGNANT AND FIERCE… You go on a ride with these girls and through their lives you see their world - and see it shattered. You’ll laugh with them, you’ll cringe with them, and ultimately you’ll probably weep with them.…It’s also important to see this play as part of the stellar body of work from director Alana Dietze. Ms. Dietze has directed a string of plays at the Echo ('Dry Land,' 'A Small Fire') that have provided tender, poignant and fierce windows on the female experience. If you didn’t get a chance to see those two plays - don’t miss 'The Wolves'. ” — Anthony Byrnes, KCRW 89.9 FM
Stage Raw
“RECOMMENDED…. STAGE RAW TOP 10… RARE MAGIC” — Katie Buenneke, Stage Raw
Paris/LA
“RAPID-FIRE… the streams of quotidian wordplay that link the girls soon work a similar magic on the audience: moment by resonant moment, we are bound in the instant… The excellent cast perfectly captures the arrogance and awkwardness of adolescence.” — Barlo Perry, Paris-LA
On Stage and Screen
“TRIUMPHANT… The ensemble is fantastic… fully realized, complex human beings… I would have happily watched these characters for longer than the 90 minutes we are given with them” — Erin Conley, On Stage and Screen
Theatre Notes
“TERRIFIC, THRILLING, MOVING, EXCITING, AMAZING… performed by nine young women at the top of their game… an amazing ensemble and an utter joy to behold.” — Paul Myrvold, Theatre Notes
Stage Scene LA
"WOW! Echo Theater Company has not only scored a major coup in snagging the Los Angeles Premiere rights to Sarah DeLappe’s 2017 Pulitzer Prize finalist The Wolves, the extraordinary production Echo has mounted of DeLappe’s Altmanesque eavesdropping on six Saturdays of teen-girl soccer warmups will surely be remembered as one of 2019’s best."-- Steven Stanley, Stage Scene LA
USC Annenberg Media
“REFRESHING… Behind DeLappe's soccer-centric play is a tale of the hunger, honesty and heartbreak of modern female adolescence.… Dietze and her cast can bring it to life with such delight, honesty and heart.” — Jessica Doherty, USC Annenbeg Media
Showmag.com
“SHARP, RICHLY DETAILED, AND FILLED WITH EXPRESSIVE THEATRICAL LIFE… another production from The Echo Theater Company that celebrates what is best in Los Angeles intimate theater” — Michael Van Duzer, Showmag
Larchmont Chronicle
“FOUR STARS… Funny, insightful and very entertaining.” — Patricia Foster Rye, Larchmont Chronicle
Bonnie Priever Curtain Up
“NOT TO BE MISSED… takes teen age girl talk on a soccer team to a whole new playing field… a delicate coming of age story, filled with profound insights on growing up” — Bonnie Priever Curtain Up
