|
|
 |
|
Washington Post
By Nelson Pressley Thursday, May 13, 2010
|
|
|
"Mitchell Hébert's Fogg is the calm at the center, delivering the character's unflappable declarations
with wry precision."
|
|
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 25, 2010 "Comedy of this accomplished order
requires the casting of commensurate talent, and here Shalwitz's instincts are impeccable. It's tough to know whom to single
out in an ensemble when all the actors save one are called on to portray two very distinct roles, so let's spread the applause.
As the slowly imploding Russ, the excellent, utterly convincing Hebert has one of his most rewarding parts in a long time."
|
|
The Myth & Magic of 'Eurydice' By Celia Wren Special to The Washington Post
Friday, February 13, 2009 “Delectably outlandish as the Stones are, they seem almost staid in comparison to the Nasty Interesting
Man, who, it's implied, is the Lord of the Underworld in disguise. Clad in funereal black and initially seen licking a blood-red
lollipop, Hébert gives this figure a mesmerizing freakishness, his voice ranging crazily in pitch, his hands exaggeratedly
gesturing to emphasize his words. The actor is equally riotous as the macabre Dennis the Menace-type who peddles his tricycle
dressed in a red-velvet tuxedo jacket and knickers, now whining, now issuing bossy orders, now addressing Eurydice in a basso
of stomach-churning lustfulness”. Peter Pan,' Sure to Hook The KidsBy Nelson Pressley Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, November 27, 2008 “A good deal of the
early wonderment comes from Mitchell Hébert, whose charmingly grumpy turn as Mr. Darling forecasts the amiably mischievous
Hook he delivers in the show's long middle act. If Hébert's performance is a bit of a scene stealer, that's okay; with Hook's
dandified vanity and appetite for menace, a little extra is the least an actor can do”. Baltimore
City Paper/John Barry/Posted 9/5/2007 Mrs. Farnsworth“Mitchell
Hébert is physically perfect for the role: Smartly attired, imposing, but not swaggering, he radiates confidence in
his own social station. That smugness is also at the root of his politely dismissive attitude toward Gordon. Meanwhile, Gordon
grows increasingly frantic as he tries to persuade Mrs. Farnsworth that he can rescue her from her husband and coach her with
this tell-all book”. Big Love/Woolly Mammoth Theatre “Hébert
pulls off a remarkable balancing act between repulsive male chauvinism and misunderstood masculinity. How wonderfully challenging
it is for the audience to simultaneously despise and empathize with Constantine”. Metro Weekly/ Jonathan Padget
Published on June 27, 2002
|
|
|
Uncle Vanya
By John Barry | Posted 9/15/2004 Uncle Vanya By Anton Chekhov, translated by
Brian Friel At the Everyman Theatre through Oct. 17 It’s
the end of summer on the Serebryakov estate. The air is getting cooler, and the summer romances, real and imagined,
are coming to a close. People begin to wonder how they’re going to make it through another winter. There are two possible
options for that: getting depressed or going crazy. Everyman’s version of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya
leans, successfully, in the direction of the funny farm. For 25 years, Vanya (Mitchell Hébert, pictured) and his
niece Sonya (Maia DeSanti) have been laboring away on the estate, sending their earnings to its absentee owners, Professor
Alexander Serebryakov (Dan Manning) and his young wife, Elena (Deborah Hazlett). Now, the owners have returned. Vanya is in
love with Elena; the estate’s Dr. Astrov is in love with her as well; the professor thinks Elena wants him dead; Sonya
is in love with Astrov; and Elena is unsure what she should do. Simply put, it’s a mess. They love one another, hate
one another, want to kill one another, or want to marry one another. But the time and place seem to be permanently wrong.
Everyman isn’t the first theater company to find the humor in this grim scenario. Chekhov himself, though, might
not get all the jokes. There’s some winking and nodding in Brian Friel’s modern translation, and there are a few
insertions of over-the-top humor that challenge the slow buildup. But the occasional liberties taken in this production are
worth it in the end. Hébert’s fascinating portrayal of Vanya has a psychological complexity that isn’t
usually associated with Chekhov. Arguing with his demons, he is helplessly, childishly enraged at his own loneliness. He’s
in a desperate search for someone to blame, and eventually he turns on himself. Hébert’s performance lends Vanya
an almost ecstatic, Dostoevskian dimension: As he puts on his spectacles at the end and returns to work, we know that he has
truly run the spiritual gauntlet. Vincent Lancisi’s artistic direction gives the play a lurching, sometimes
arrhythmic quality that fascinates, though it sometimes disturbs the larger sweep. In an initial scene, for instance, Astrov
and Vanya go on a wild bender that seems straight out of Animal House. So much for the slow buildup. It’s
difficult to believe that this is quite what Chekhov had in mind, but after a century of being lyrically melancholic this
Uncle Vanya is manically depressed. So yes, this is Chekhov for the 21st century, minus the Prozac.
|
|
|
|
|
|
