Tortillo!
By Casey Ross
“The fun of this show is that we all know people like Dave, Steve, Ted and Patrick, and we laugh at their familiarity. It also was obvious this tight cast was having the time of its life performing the antics and physical comedy of “Tortillo!” If “Tortillo!” and past performances are any indication, we can look forward to more quality theater from [Catalyst Repertory.]”
-Christine Schaefer, The Greenfeild Daily Reporter
“…a bizarre mystery of corruption and revenge with odd and shady characters…Under the expert direction of Tristan Ross (no relation to Casey) this madness flows excellently through two acts. This was originally a 50-minute Fringe show, and hits the same plot beats, but the two Rosses have ensured that it doesn’t feel ‘padded out.’ ”
–John Belden, Plays with John & Wendy
“The show relies on a lot of crass slapstick and dick jokes.”
–Lisa Gauthier Mitchison, Nuvo / Indianapolis Theatre Reviews
The Diviners
By Jim Leonard, Jr
“★★★★★! The story’s main characters are Buddy, a mentally challenged 17-year-old with a natural gift for dowsing, and C.C. Showers, an ex-pastor who shows up in Zion, Indiana, trying to find a new way of life. Pat Mullen is a sweet, simple, sincere Buddy, a character plagued by aquaphobia due to his mother’s death while saving him from drowning as a toddler. Mullen’s Buddy is likable, and Mullen avoids becoming a caricature. Davey Peluse, playing C.C. …exhibits the bearing and clear, booming voice of a man who has spent his adult life behind a pulpit. While C.C. professes to have left preaching, Peluse gives C.C. a confident demeanor and easy with people, harkening back to C.C.’s past life.”
-Lisa Gauthier Mitchison, Nuvo / Indianapolis Theatre Reviews
Lobby Channel
By Paige Scott
“[Catalyst’s] latest show is a perfect conversation starter for this age in which humanity has never been so connected, yet individuals still find themselves so lonely. In “Lobby Channel,” a new musical written and directed by Ross’s friend (and local actress) Paige Scott, based on a story once told on NPR’s “This American Life,” a pair of morning radio jocks are trading insults as usual when one tells of something extraordinary – his home VCR managed to pull from the cable system a closed-circuit feed from an unfamiliar building somewhere in the city…Is Ted a sort of stalker? Is this the beginning of an unconventional love story? The play concludes in a logical manner, but still leaves those questions hanging for us to wonder – as good theatre should.”
-John Belden, Plays with John & Wendy
Equus
By Peter Shaffer
WINNER OF THE NUVO 2016 “BEST OF INDY” AWARD FOR BEST LOCALLY PRODUCED PLAY.
“A play as complex as Equus cannot possibly succeed without top tier acting, and in this, Ms. Ross’s cast does not disappoint; there is not a single weak link in the chain…I cannot imagine, however, that even a Broadway production could outshine what this talented group of actors and crew has brought to the Indianapolis stage. Rarely do I consider seeing a show twice, but you just may see me there again next week, searching for things I missed, considering its messages a little bit more, and simply allowing it to wash over me rather than dissecting it for a review.”
-Larry Adams, A Seat on the Asile
“The professional style of Shaffer’s character Dr. Martin Dysart is direct, inquisitive, and rational. Brian G. Hartz embodied it without flaw…The blend of provocation, resistance, ferocity, and sly wit in Taylor Cox’s portrayal ruled the stage, yet without obscuring Alan’s vulnerability and confusion…A half-hearted production of the play would be insufferable; [Catalyst] goes all out, giving the symbolism free rein and driving the complex meaning of “Equus” home.”
-Jay Harvey, Jay Harvey Upstage
“In “Equus,” we are presented with a broken boy, exposing the cracks in everyone around him until all are shattered. It is truly something to behold.”
-John Belden, Plays with John & Wendy
IndyFringe
Tortillo! 2:
Dickens Rising
By Casey Ross
“IndyFringe poster woman, Casey Ross, has unleashed the long awaited sequel of her 2009 offering Tortillo!, to IndyFringe16 in Tortillo! 2. If you saw the first installment, you recall that someone had coked the chips at a snack food company. In Tortillo! 2, you won’t believe it, but someone has done it…again! …On the particular night we saw it, one half of this duo had completed a triathlon that morning and was exhausted by 10:30 p.m. (The handsome, debonair one, if you’re wondering.) We pressed on through the driving rain and flooded sidewalks of Mass Ave and found our seats. As the lights dimmed (and Pete Townsend sang), I hoped we would stay awake. Staying awake was not a problem. Nuclear reactors don’t have the energy of these actors. Equally impressive was the impeccable timing. This was a well rehearsed show that ran like a finely tuned, well, nuclear reactor…”
-Perfect Strangers Blog
BardFest
Coriolanus
By William Shakespeare
“A searing Coriolanus…Taylor Cox, his apartness signaled in the flesh by sleeve tattoos, plays Coriolanus. His spirit of independence and defiance (eventually of the patricians as well as the plebeians) never flags. He roars Coriolanus’ unbending disdain for the populace, which is suspicious of his military exploits and holds him responsible for elevated grain prices that have put them close to starvation…The production gets enough things right that you won’t want to miss out on that rare chance to see “Coriolanus” in the flesh, wounds and all.”
-Jay Harvey, Jay Harvey Upstage
“Cox, who is proving himself to be one of the best actors in Indy, is excellent as his frustratingly complex character. You may not like this Caius Marcius Coriolanus, but you have to respect him. Davey Pelsue applies his matching talent as fellow Roman officer Titus Lartius, a dutiful soldier of inevitably conflicting loyalties. Macy’s is the top performance, a force of nature like a mother wolf who wants to be pack Alpha…Unafraid, director Casey Ross gives this story a chance to show us all its complexities. The era portrayed is unspecified, the costumes mildly punk without being distracting, leaving us only with these characters and the drama that plays out among them. Occasional music is modern, but works with the timeless narrative. If you are a fan of great theatre, seeing this “Coriolanus” should be a priority.”
-John Belden, Plays with John and Wendy