Love and Information Goodnight Moon |
Ivy + Bean: The Musical
Director Susann Suprenant’s new show at the Rose Theater, covers that territory for grade-schoolers with a fun and relatable story, fast footwork and a set that closely resembles the Annie Burrows books on which the 75-minute play is based. […] A preview audience from Liberty Elementary School clearly got into the fun. The kids gasped when the wall went up to reveal Bean’s home, clapped with enthusiasm after each scene, whooped at the end and talked about the show as they filed out.
Betsie Freeman, Omaha World-Herald 10/15
The Archeology of Birdsong
"Brilliant show!!!....Congratulations!!! ... concept, music, dance, heart, Feeling, awakening, message, art, singing, Soul Remembering ... and cookies! Hope to experience this one again!"
Sandy Aquila, OM Center, 3/14
Rose’s visual magic shines in ‘Peach’
Director Susann Suprenant and crew have done a bang-up job of bringing this children's classic to life. It should be fun for kids in single digits, even some tweens, and the parents and grandparents who take them. ~Bob Fischbach, Omaha World-Herald, 4/12
Moonage Daydream: ætherplough’s trippy [SPACE] is an intergalactic delight
Suprenant, who also directs, has cobbled together an ingeniously intriguing script.
Despite being staged in the barest of brick-and-concrete black box voids, [SPACE] somehow manages to attain a transcendentally organic quality that belies the cold surfaces and hard edges of its surroundings.
[SPACE] charts a clear course for a mind-bendingly Quixotic quest that juxtaposes a sojourn into the vastness of the cosmos agains the sort of “there’s no place like home” realities found only when looking deep within. ~David Williams, The Reader, 10/11
Knives Out
It feels both earnest and dreamlike and it burns a little. I was a little stunned..."
Andrew Yolland, Omaha Review, 6/09
Knives Out
At the intersection of performance, art and performance art dwells ætherplough, the multidisciplinary company whose edgy works push the boundaries of devised theater. For this band of artists, those frontiers are most often situated light years beyond the realm of traditional theater offerings..." ~David Williams, The Reader, 6/09
Shaken Nebraskan
[A Man from Nebraska] is a layered look at universal experience that honors the search for spiritual insight. As directed by Susann Suprenant and performed by Jonathan Wilhoft, Delaney Driscoll and a surprising supporting cast, it also entertains at every turn.
In short, you should rush to the Blue Barn... ~Warren Francke, The Reader, 4/08
2200 Volts of Theatre: ‘The Exonerated’ at the Blue Barn
Rarely is there a work so powerful, so memorable, so timely and so well acted played out on any of our local stages. Riveted to my seat as if by the leather straps of “the chair” itself, I encountered wonderful performances all around, making this production one that is sure to be remembered when awards season rolls around.
Director Susann Suprenant’s telltale hand is everywhere to be seen in this veritable ballet of subtle movement as kin, cops, and most notably, ominously robed judges practically float on and off stage.
David Williams, City Weekly, 2/07
Words drive the stories of The Exonerated
The power of the Blue Barn’s production of The Exonerated is enhanced by stark, simple staging – actors sit or stand on multi-level platforms and address the audience directly – and outstanding ensemble acting.
The Exonerated should rank high on any list of the season’s best live theater... [with a] meaty script, powerful performances and expert staging in presenting an intensely personal point of view – from those who have lived the nightmare of blind justice. ~Bob Fischbach, Omaha World-Herald, 2/07
Arrested Development: Six horror stories of death row clearance
Director Susann Suprenant assembled an outstanding cast and created the most intense dramatic experience of the current season, but with ample humor and hope. ~Warren Francke, The Reader, 2/07
The Exonerated: Death vs DNA
If you miss seeing The Exonerated, the current play at the Blue Barn Theatre, you will have missed one of the most riveting, fast-moving performances of live theater ever presented in Omaha... It is totally absorbing.
See it and let me know your thoughts. I will never forget it. ~Anne Boyle, Omaha City Weekly, 2/07
New Company presents engaging, entertaining play
Mineola Twins – a satire of politics and gender roles – is as thought-provoking as it is entertaining. If I had a hat on, I’d take it off to Susann Suprenant for directing this engaging production ... a show that shouldn’t be missed. ~Julien Fielding, The Reader, 7/04
UNO performance of ‘How I Learned to Drive’ a must see
How I Learned to Drive teaches powerful lessons about the perils of growing up female. It is also compelling theater as directed by Susann Suprenant. Almost any summary of the [plot] does injustice to a script and performances that reveal so much. ~Warren Francke, Nonpareil, 9/03
UNO Production of A Streetcar Named Desire – ACTF Adjudication Report
The polish and professionalism of the production were very high; I have seen MFA-level work that was less capably presented. The work was confident and creative.
During the talkback, Susann shared that she’s “not much into realism.” If that’s so, I hope to have the chance to see her non-realist work! This show was staged consistently to support and clarify relationships and intentions, and the acting work had a uniform strength and clarity that created an ensemble. Transitions were often energetic and creative, space and props were psychologically endowed, and scenes were rhythmically varied and well begun and ended.
Simon du Toit, Adjudicator, ACTF, 10/02
UNO’s Skin of Our Teeth offers unusual look at life and survival
...if a visually stimulating, thought-provoking piece is more your style, head over to the Weber Fine Arts Theater this weekend to catch the final run of this wonderful production. You won’t be disappointed. [...] The off-the-wall acting, combined with the minimalistic set, perfectly complements the play’s themes of survival and the indomitable human spirit. ~Rae Licari, The Gateway 4/02
Skin of Our Teeth
[Suprenant] wonderfully balanced the need for comedic zaniness with the intent of the play which was a serious one. It’s a tightrope balance and could go off at any time but she made some really fine choices that prevented it from being utterly “madcap” or utterly too serious.
Brigit Keegan, Ph.D. , Chair, English dept., Creighton University, 4/02
Fine Arts production explores new dimensions in Shakespeare
[Goodnight Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet)] humorously tackles and analyzes predominant cultural myths surrounding female identity and Shakespeare’s seemingly doomed and ill-fated female characters.
Brilliantly staged and directed by Susann Suprenant, this innovative and thought-provoking production flows gracefully with its proficient five-member cast portraying a total of 16 roles.
Margaret Boehme, The Gateway, 4/01
Happiness may elude characters but not audience viewing ‘Seagull’
A Seagull Soiree [is Susann Suprenant’s] free and entertaining adaptation of The Seagull by Anton Chekhov. If Chekhov were to see this production, he might not claim it as his play, but he would probably find it intriguing.
The production offers more than a campy good time. The characters’ concerns are still valid today and their situation is poignant, in spite of all our laughter. These yearning, ambitious, never-fulfilled, always desirous characters are pitiable. This isn’t your grandmother’s Seagull but it’s well worth seeing.” ~Dorothy Velasco, The Register Guard, 4/99
Students shine in ‘Glass Menagerie’
Once again, the Lassen High School Fine Arts Department has proven its ability to entertain and enlighten... Never one to be satisfied with what is easy, [Suprenant’s choice of Glass Menagerie gives her actors the opportunity] to stretch their abilities, to rise to the occasion.
Quite an order for a group of high school kids to fill and in many scenes the actors simply shined. And when it happened, the reality of the students’ youth and inexperience gave way, sometimes quietly, sometimes explosively, to the illusion of theater. No longer were they high school kids standing on the stage – they were real people fighting desperately to hold on to their dreams.
Brian Bauman, Lassen County Times, 3/94
Lassen High cast has ‘Picnic’ with production
The Lassen High School production of William Inge’s Picnic was the sort of event that makes those of us who never had the opportunity to participate in a high school drama production realize what we missed. From the acting and directing to the set, lights and sound, Picnic was a success – not just as a high school production, but as a quality theatrical production in its own right.”
Brian Bauman, Lassen County Times, 12/92