PRESS
Click links to be taken to review's webpage
Click links to be taken to review's webpage
Fourteen Funerals at Purple Rose Theatre Company
"Joshi and Wickett are wonderfully emotive...Wickett’s anger is as infectious as her joy; while she represents the small towns dotting the quiet places of our region, she’s strange in ways all her own, not quite fitting into her surroundings on her own quirky grounds.... Before long, Fourteen Funerals skillfully transitions from full comedy to tender emotional heights, landing its climax as effortlessly as a triple axel looks."
"Joshi and Wickett are wonderfully emotive...Wickett’s anger is as infectious as her joy; while she represents the small towns dotting the quiet places of our region, she’s strange in ways all her own, not quite fitting into her surroundings on her own quirky grounds.... Before long, Fourteen Funerals skillfully transitions from full comedy to tender emotional heights, landing its climax as effortlessly as a triple axel looks."
"...prepare for some laughs and witty wordplay in “Fourteen Funerals"...the 90-minute play clips along with amusing asides — Millie privately writes and performs hilarious commercial jingles that might NOT entice a family to choose her family-run funeral home — and cleverly ad libbed speeches for strangers you’ve probably met...Between the laughs, this warm little comedy may even bring a tear to your eye."
"Purple Rose hits a humorous home run with Fourteen Funerals...Shonita Joshi as Sienna, the lone surviving Fitchwood and Ashley Wickett as Millie, the daughter of the Director of Martin Funeral Home, played their vastly different roles to perfection. They were likeable. They were believable. And they worked magic with the Eric Pfeffinger script. And director Rhiannon Ragland kept the dialogue, and laughs, moving."
Strangers on a Train at Meadow Brook Theatre
"With the dynamics between characters serving as the meat and potatoes of this play, it’s because of the incredible work of the actors that Strangers on the Train is so addictive. Everyone on stage is working impossibly hard to bring this story to life. Strangers On A Train has moments where every actor can shine, and some of the greatest work on the stage is happening not in the dialogue but in the facial work for the characters."
"Light versus dark. Good versus evil. Strangers on a Train is immersed in duality, which is equally engrossing and disturbing. The rich complexity of the story will leave you on the edge of your seat, and the MBT cast and crew have the breadth of experience to present this show in such a clever manner."
The Antichrist Cometh at the Purple Rose Theatre Company
"Ashley Wickett plays Duncan’s fiancée, Fiona. Her passion, energy, and physicality are striking. The woman can quote the Bible (and MacGregor did his research), but Fiona reminds us that fanaticism can accelerate into a dangerous thing."
"Welsh, Shangle, and Wickett are all making their PRTC stage debuts, although they each have a long list of credits, and their performances prove them to be true professionals."
"Ashley Wickett plays Duncan’s fiancée, Fiona. Her passion, energy, and physicality are striking. The woman can quote the Bible (and MacGregor did his research), but Fiona reminds us that fanaticism can accelerate into a dangerous thing."
"Welsh, Shangle, and Wickett are all making their PRTC stage debuts, although they each have a long list of credits, and their performances prove them to be true professionals."
"Directed by Rhiannon Ragland, the cast is superb at delivering on MacGregor’s characters"
"Ms. Wickett delivers on Fiona’s manic religiosity, while using MacGregor’s excellent writing to temper her faith vigor with a bit of Tequila."
"There is a great balance between the wit and the comedy, and the actors are superb at delivering on both."
"Ms. Wickett delivers on Fiona’s manic religiosity, while using MacGregor’s excellent writing to temper her faith vigor with a bit of Tequila."
"There is a great balance between the wit and the comedy, and the actors are superb at delivering on both."
"The quartet of performers do good work...and Wickett makes the most out of Fiona, someone who can recite scripture word-for-word and keeps her iPad on standby should the need arise to cite bible verses for the sake of proving a point. Or, in one of the show’s more absurd plot developments, provide her justification to kill John with a butcher’s knife."
The Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Indiana Repertory Theatre
"Ashley Wickett brings Silvia to life with a beautiful portrayal – her character being as true to herself as her Valentine is. Doubling as Julia’s cheeky servant Lucetta, Ms. Wickett earns high regard for both of her performances."
"Ashley Wickett brings Silvia to life with a beautiful portrayal – her character being as true to herself as her Valentine is. Doubling as Julia’s cheeky servant Lucetta, Ms. Wickett earns high regard for both of her performances."
"The show includes a cast of IRT vets like Ryan Artzberger and Robert Neal (who both starred in HART “The Tempest” this summer), along with some excellent newcomers. Two standouts were Charles Pasternak as Valentine, who vacillates between ardent lover and frustrated exile and Ashley Wickett as both Julia’s maid Lucetta and the sought-after Silvia."
Much Ado About Nothing at the Pioneer Theatre Company
"The company illuminates Shakespeare’s brilliant comedic repartee while commendably balancing the more serious reflections on honor and shame...The enfolding comedy of the Beatrice-Benedick story is set against a darker one of younger love between Claudio and Hero (Terrell Donnell Sledge and Ashley Wickett, both excellent)...This production’s appeal undeniably stems from its performances, where the director focuses his strongest attention. "
Once in a Lifetime at The American Conservatory Theatre
"As a curtain-raiser, Coffey's May Daniels, John Wernke's Jerry and Patrick Lane's George give us a taste of their song-and-dance act, and Alexander V. Nichols contributes a couple of terrific period-style film bits featuring Jessica Kitchens as a silents diva in a wretched screen test and Ashley Wickett as a clueless new romantic lead...Lane's indelibly dense George and Wickett's blithely inept would-be starlet are beguiling as the secondary couple. "
"Other stand-outs include Will LeBow as harried director Herman Glogauer, aching to recover the fame that slipped through his fingers when he passed up the Vitaphone; Nick Gabriel – a master of the comedic pause – in credible drag as receptionist Miss Leighton, whose derisive persona is unfazed by craziness; a winsome Ashley Wickett as George’s girlish love interest with stars in her eyes and her eyes on the stars..."
Scapin at The American Conservatory Theatre, directed by and starring Bill Irwin
"What matters is that this is, pound for pun, the funniest show of the year thus far..Gregory Wallace brightly mines the humor of the young man more in love with himself-in-love than with the beguiling Ashley Wickett as his forbidden partner...This is "Scapin" as a tour de force of comedy with an edge. Molière would probably be pleased."
"Only time will tell if "Scapin" will make it to the very shortlist of legendary ACT shows, but by the time opening night was over Wednesday, it was clear the comedy was one of the funniest plays to hit the American Conservatory stage...Irwin may be the mainspring, but if the supporting cogs and wheels aren't perfectly in sync, it won't keep time.Irwin, no doubt, realized this in casting the show. He has surrounded himself with outstanding talent from top to bottom...While this sort of self-referential humor can wear thin sometimes, it plays beautifully for the length of the show, and leaves the audience wanting more. This is a credit to the cast's deft comedic abilities and Irwin's ability to understand -- no doubt, from his knack for comedy and years of experience -- how much is just enough."
"René Augesen’s sexy gypsy is a hoot and Ashley Wickett is adorable as Octave’s beloved Hyacinth (or Hydrangea or Hyperbole or whatever anybody chooses to call her because nobody can remember her name...So funny, in fact, that anyone lucky enough to live in the Bay Area would be a fool to miss it"
"Bill Irwin's madcap genius in the title role puts Moliere's Scapin at ACT over the top on the Richter scale of San Francisco comedy...Ashley Wickett as Hyacinth, Hibiscus, etc. plays her ingénue role with a fair purity and young lust..."
Romeo and Juliet at The Livermore Shakespeare Festival
"I never quite bought that story until Saturday, when actors Joseph Salazar and Ashley Wickett channeled whatever it is that makes kids kids — and created theatrical magic outside an old white house on the edge of Livermore's Concannon Vineyard...Wickett's Juliet is an effervescent, emotions-driven girl who seems in love with the seemingly endless life ahead of her almost as much as she's in love with Romeo. Both immediately create a touching vulnerability that foreshadows what is to befall them in such a short time..."