The Changeling

"Sensation slides into silliness in 'The Changeling'...The convoluted story grows more lurid and strained as the play hurtles toward its predictably bloody conclusion, but with a fine cast bringing sufficient heat to the panting plotlines, the Red Bull Theater and its artistic director, Jesse Berger, once again win admiration for presenting a rarely seen drama from the Jacobean era with highly caffeinated verve." Full Review

"The play takes some very strange turns indeed and Berger directs it with intelligent sincerity...Despite committed zaniness from the cast the humor of these scenes is hard to render, and the back-and-forth between plots gets tiring. The elegance and clarity of this 'Changeling' are laudable, but a stronger sense of the grotesque might make it more attractive to verse-averse audiences." Full Review

"Red Bull's production tries to embrace the tonal inconsistencies. It hits the right notes of bleak humor and bloodlust, though it has problems connecting two wildly different story lines...Separately, the two narratives are very nicely performed...Berger has a hard time making them gel as one, and throughout the production, it feels as if we're watching two separate works being performed alternately." Full Review

"What Red Bull does on stage with the play, directed by artistic director Jesse Berger with a 13-member cast, is always competent, sometimes striking, but for me, I’m sorry to say, for all the stabbings and embraces, more appreciated than enjoyed." Full Review

"'The Changeling' is a prime example of the genre. At its best, Jesse Berger's production is a glittering black comedy, unleashing alternative waves of shock and laughter, but not everyone is up to the task at hand, especially given some of the curveballs thrown their way by the authors...If you have any interest in the Jacobeans, 'The Changeling' is a must, if only because it might not come around for another couple of decades." Full Review

"Berger’s production bounces like a billiard ball from tragic intensity to melodramatic rodomontade, from romantic lovemaking to Grand Guignol ferocity, from bantering sex comedy (reminiscent of ‘The Taming of the Shrew’) to bedlam farce. He gets points for the show’s liveliness and clear diction, but never does find whatever it is that that would allow the characters to be fundamentally believable despite the extreme situations and relationships the playwrights impose on them." Full Review

"'The Changeling' is not as strong as other recent Red Bull productions. The cast, though capable and hardworking, isn’t quite able to bring credibility to the play. Even so, Berger’s production has a rough vitality, not to mention plenty of heightened language, blood and cleavage." Full Review

"The version of the script used here contributes to this feeling of leanness, as does Berger's overall thematic approach, which, per his usual, sometimes sheds more light on the shadowy sections than is perhaps ideal...Berger and his company leave us a bit adrift and that failure to overcome the play's inherent challenges mean that the evening as a whole doesn't satisfy." Full Review

"Jesse Berger’s inconsistent staging for Red Bull Theater revival leads to its own varied responses. The main storyline about covetous Beatrice-Joanna and her sicko sexual and lethal alliance with her dad’s disfigured servant De Flores works okay. But a subplot about men in disguise to have sex with a doctor’s wife clunks. So much unevenness is enough to make you mope." Full Review

"While Jesse Berger’s revival is vigorous and straightforward, it is also rather bland…The production makes several definite choices which are problematic to the overall effectiveness of this outrageous play. Visually, the production is devoid of color…Unfortunately, while director Jesse Berger has chosen to err on the side of caution with a subdued and restrained production, something more outrageous might have been more memorable." Full Review

"For all intent, this is still a moral tragedy, and tragedy steeped in utter corruption is what should be at the core of the production. Instead, what we get is more like melodrama, with an underplayed sense of sexual madness. Even the play’s dark humor has been mined for laughs rather than for the way its sardonic quality reflects the overall tone...There is an unfortunate mix of elocution styles." Full Review

"This blood-soaked, sex-drenched verse drama finally lives up to my expectations...For the high-minded audience member, there’s also plenty to chew on: issues of gender and class identity abound. But you don’t have to be an academic to appreciate 'The Changeling.' Its core elements—lust, jealousy, and murder—make it one of the most appealing and absorbing dramas of the rip-roaring Jacobean period. Thanks, Red Bull, for giving it the production it deserves." Full Review

"A finely wrought, emotionally fierce production of the seminal Jacobean revenge tragedy…The complications and grand twists which include ghostly hauntings and guilt-ridden visions comprise the two acts which clip along at a pace that thrills and engages. This is no small thanks to the exceptional teamwork by the acting ensemble and Berger’s conceptualizations and natural, seamless staging." Full Review

"Sadly these two stories, which eventually dovetail in an overly convenient way, never mesh well...Much of the problem lies in Jesse Berger’s direction, which is unable to remove the feeling of disconnectedness. This disjointedness translates into the audience not knowing whether to cringe or laugh at certain points…For all its faults, the production remains thought-provoking with good performances. For students of Jacobean drama, it’s definitely worth a look." Full Review

"Berger’s production of 'The Changeling' gives a window into issues of power and gender with a modern eye…Felciano is the main attraction here. He’s got leading man good looks under a layer of disfiguring make-up and he draws you in to look closer…Unfortunately, Topham is not quite a match for Felciano…The comic-relief in the asylum segments never quite hits the mark and even the way Berger moves the asylum inmates in and out of the space feels internally illogical." Full Review

"The large cast is splendid. Every word of this very wordy piece can be heard an understood...This very dark work is sprinkled with bon mots including riotously raunchy double entendres. Running more than two hours with an intermission, it is not a work for those with attention-deficit disorder." Full Review

"There's a lack of subtlety to the play's unambiguous moralizing and a strange off-kilter feeling to the weaving together of separate dramatic and comedic plot lines that render it somewhat inert in its latest production. Despite the employment of an ensemble cast as capable as it is large and richly atmospheric spatial and sound design, Red Bull's 'Changeling' never quite builds the salacious, seldom-performed work to the level of dynamism for which its productions are known." Full Review

"The plot of this revenge tragedy is as mad as many of the characters...'The Changeling' is a play that could almost have been a precursor of any number of horror movies. Where this 2¼-hour production scores is in maintaining great pace while bringing out every ounce of the gory humour, with blood and the odd spare digit part of the recipe for a stirring night out that will not disappoint." Full Review

"In a terrific production by Red Bull Theater, this drama of love and loathing is given a fine and very enjoyable revival. Director Jesse Berger has managed the essential trick: avoid the slightest whiff of parody, and play it to the hilt…The plot and sub-plots are wildly complicated, but the theme is obvious: erotic love can drive you crazy." Full Review

"A crisp, modern spin that locates caustic humor within the pathos. Under inventive direction, the work has been stripped down to its essence...The juicy, dizzying plot, a warped riff on the 'Beauty and the Beast' fable, can be tough to follow...This is no timid production. This highly theatrical 'Changeling' takes full advantage of ghastly dramatic moments, amping up the sex and gore." Full Review

"Everything feels choreographed and deliberate, from design to staging to the acting itself…The full effect of slick mechanical precision is at odds with the script's focus on madness and disorder…The upshot of this high production value is that there is not a bad note in the play, but nothing stands out particularly either." Full Review

"'The Changeling' begins as a light breeze of love in the air which quickly develops into a torrent of betrayal and sexual desires wreaking havoc in just about everyone’s lives, and all for the sake of love. Much like a modern day soap opera, 'The Changeling' is a play that whets your emotional appetite the deeper you delve into the true sinister nature of the story leaving one to wonder if it is ever wrong to love someone too much." Full Review