CRITIC REVIEWS
mamma mia
as SAM CARMICHAEL
EAST WEST PLAYERS
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MAMMA MIA! WOW!
STAGE SCENE LA
~Steven Stanley
May 16, 2019
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“Ariano shows off pleasing vocal chops as the man who broke Donna’s heart.”
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SOUTH PASADENA.COM
East West Players MAMMA MIA! The Unabashedly Emotional, Feel-
Good Disco Dance Party We Never Knew We Needed
Theatre review
By Alisa Hayashida
May 18, 2019
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“Creating a sizzling chemistry with Joan Almedilla is the dashing Alan Ariano, as her lost love, Sam, whose subtle performance gives clues that he’s come here seeking more than a wedding weekend.”
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honor
as MAKOTO
PROSPECT THEATER COMPANY
Another Broadway and film veteran, Alan Ariano does an elegant star turn as the melancholy samurai Makoto, a darker character with a more haunted past—and a more doomed future—than his As You Like It counterpart… But Ariano really shines in the scene where Makoto teaches Yoshiro/Orlando haiku, which is followed by a captivating song, “By the Next New Moon.”
Talkin’ Broadway
Children must learn when to obey their parents' wishes and when not to. The impetuous must learn patience, primarily from the philosophical sword instructor Makoto (Alan Ariano), whose method starts and ends with improvisational poetry. And both the throne folk and the simple folk they meet in the forest must learn the single, inalterable truth about war: people die. It's Ariano, however, who walks away with the most scenes and songs. He grants Makoto a stunning serenity that codifies the work's treatment of duty and tradition better than most of the writing or design (including Sidney Shannon's exquisitely appointed costumes). Ariano’s understatement lets you focus on the words and the feelings behind them - a dual-edged sword, as the missing musings of theatre, sexuality, and humanity that fuel As You Like It become even more apparent.
Yellow
face
as HYH & Others
THEATRE RALEIGH
THEATRE RALEIGH'S PERFORMANCE OF 'YELLOW FACE' IS SHARP AND TIMELY
By Katy Koop June 29, 2022
"Ariano is a particular standout, with his comedic characters stealing scenes and, as Hwang’s endearing father, becoming a performer you can’t keep your eyes off of.
His particular portrayal of Wen Ho Lee … is a heart-wrenching portrayal of a dark chapter in American history."
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THEATRE RALEIGH'S 'YELLOW FACE' IS A BOLD, BRAVE BREATH OF FRESH AIR
Tar-Triangle Arts Review 6-24-2022
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"And, speaking of tender, Alan Ariano is absolutely heartwarming as Hwang’s father. He’s a typical dad, one who loves his son dearly yet struggles to understand him, and Ariano's palpable chemistry with Tan only serves to deepen the strength of their bond."
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FELIX STARRO
as FELIX STARRO
MA-YI THEATER COMPANY
THEATERSCENE.NET
Darryl Reilly, Critic
September 4, 2019
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“With his purring Filipino-accented smooth voice, beaming countenance and majestic presence, Broadway stage veteran Alan Ariano is sensational as Felix. Mr. Ariano effortlessly conveys the egotistical charlatan’s wiliness and self-absorption. Particularly striking is Ariano’s vivid depiction of the character’s hypocritical sensibility as he espouses moral beliefs and altruism while gleefully admitting he’s a fraud.”
THE THEATER TIMES
“FELIX STARRO” IS BORN
Posted by Abigail Weil | 6th Sep 2019
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“Alan Ariano is ravishing as the title character”
NEW YORK STAGE REVIEW
FELIX STARRO: NOT ENTIRELY A MAGICAL NEW MUSICAL
By Michael Sommers
Sept 3, 2019
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“Alan Ariano’s sympathetic portrayal of the failing Felix Starro glows with
an inner fire that radiates a sense of purity even in his seediest moments.”
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A CurtainUp Review
Felix Starro
By Gemma Lolos
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“Alan Ariano, who brings astonishing vulnerability to the title role”
has worked as an actor for over 30 years. In his lengthy career, he has brought to life a variety of Asian
and Hispanic characters, but until now, he has never had the opportunity to portray a fellow Filipino. The
musical's book sheds light on the experience of undocumented Filipinos living in America as well family
dynamics and faith as they relate to Filipino culture."
EXUENT
Review: Felix Starro at Ma-Yi Theater Company
SEPTEMBER 2019
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“Ariano is authoritatively persuasive, humanizing a soft-spoken con artist as an affectionate and stern patriarch while never assuaging his egoism and
culpability”
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The New Yorker
Felix Starro
SEPTEMBER 2019
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“If you’ve ever known a false prophet or a phony supernaturalist, you
know it’s tough to humanize that lowlife type—and Ariano pulls it
off.”
A deal
as MR LI
URBAN STAGE
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A DEAL’ AND CONSEQUENCES
POSTED ON NOV 20, 2017 IN THEATER REVIEWS
By Beatrice Williams-Rude
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“The father, one of the twin poles of the play, is a marvelously constructed character, wonderfully
played by Alan Ariano. We know this man, we understand him, we respect him, and we like him.”
THE UNFORGETTABLE LINE
Joe Trentacosta
President, JT Public Relations
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“Alan Ariano and Lydia Gaston bring depth and passion to their proud parental fishes
out of water.”
Zhu Yi’s A Deal Shows The Pact Between Immigrant And Country
Diandra Reviews November 22, 2017
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“Alan Ariano as the hilarious, but easy to anger Mr. Li”
THE KING AND I
as THE KING
DALLAS SUMMER THEATERS
THE KATY TRAIL WEEKLY
‘The King and I’ is royal family entertainment
March 27, 2015 | By Shari Goldstein Stern
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“As the King, Alan Ariano couldn’t be better suited. Again, it’s hard to avoid
making comparisons but in earlier productions of the live musical, including
DSM’s over the years, he is the strongest in the role. His vocals are engaging
from the moment he opens his mouth. Yul Brynner, the legendary “King,”
although not a singer himself, would be proud.”
EIN NEWSDESK
Theater review: ‘The King and I’
BY PUNCH SHAWSPECIAL TO THE STAR-TELEGRAM
03/27/2015
DALLAS It’s big. It’s beautiful. And it’s fit for a king.
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“Seeing Alan Ariano as the king makes it hard to believe he was not the
first choice for the role. This production encountered controversy earlier this
year when Asian-American groups protested the casting of a non-Asian
actor as the king. Dallas Summer Musicals recast the part.
Ariano, who has also spent plenty of time on the Great White Way,
manages to make his king both harder and softer than we have seen him
before. He does not let us forget the king’s tyrannical streak. But he does
so while never losing touch with the king’s innate vulnerability that he tries
so hard to hide.”
EDGEMEDIANETWORK
The King and I
by Drew Jackson
Friday Mar 27, 2015
"Alan Ariano wisely chooses an interpretation of the King role instead of a Yul Brynner imitation. (Yul Brynner won a Tony and Oscar as King and became synonymous with the role.) Ariano, like York, comes to the DSM stage with a large Broadway resume including appearing in the entire run of "Miss Saigon." It's amusing to watch Ariano as he is both bemused and befuddled by Anna. And Ariano can do something that Brynner never could; he sings, beautifully."
DALLAS OBSERVER (BLOG)
Dallas Summer Musical's King and I Whistles (and Sings) Happy Tunes
By Elaine Liner Tue., Mar. 31 2015
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"After a letter of protest from members of the Asian American Performers
Action Coalition, DSM's president and managing director, Michael A.
Jenkins, and the show's director, Glenn Casale, recast it with Broadway and TV soap opera veteran Alan Ariano, who has played the king elsewhere. Good move. Ariano rules the stage as a compact, muscular presence opposite Rachel York's tall, starchy Anna. These two have sizzling chemistry, well-tuned timing in their scenes together and voices superbly matched to their roles. Ariano is nothing like Yul Brynner, who originated the part on Broadway in 1951, played it in the 1956 movie and stomped and yelled on tour with it till his death in 1985 (and as one critic later wrote, "might be playing it still"). By contrast, Ariano has subtler gestures and a better singing voice, holding back until that exuberant barefoot polka with Anna on "Shall We Dance?”
FRONT/ROW BLOG
Dallas Summer Musicals’ The King and I Enchants With Grandeur, Daring
BY LINDSEY WILSON
POSTED IN A-, REVIEWS, THEATER & DANCE. MAR 31, 2015
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“… this production also made national news for the negative feedback caused by the original casting of the King. Paul Schoeffler, a Canadian actor, was quickly replaced with Ariano when the professional theater community strongly reacted to Schoeffler’s non-Asian ethnicity. Happily, Ariano delivers a confident performance as the headstrong King …”
The King and I Brings “Something Wonderful” to Dallas
Posted on March 30, 2015
Teri Guill
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“… the stubborn but charismatic King, energetically acted by Alan Ariano. As
Anna and the King get to know one another throughout the play, their clashes serve to highlight how alike they are in willfulness, intellect and independence.Though Ariano’s King is often played with humor, he also conveys the King’s love for his children and country, and his internal dilemmas as he seeks to bring his nation into a modern age”