“Crisp, clear, hip, relevant Shakespeare; Poor Players does it best.” –Pat Launer, SDNN
"Next time there's talk of the theatre dying, send the woe-sayers to…these Poor Players. The troupe is a homegrown treasure and Shakespeare is safe with them…they're irresistible."
- Critic, Welton Jones
MEASURE FOR MEASURE (2008)
“…a Shakespeare troupe performing at the top of its game, with smart direction, excellent costumes.” -Pam Kragen, NC Times
“…stark, funny, well-spoken production of Shakespeare's "comedy." Between a cross and a hangman's noose.”-Jeff Smith, SD Reader
RICHARD II (2007)
“It was brilliant.” -Kerry Lengel, AZ Republic
“Excellent entertainment for our current election year.’ -Beverly Lehnhardt, Sedona.biz
“the finest classical actors in the Valley. It is a feast for the theater-goer and should not be missed.” –Get Out
AS YOU LIKE IT (2005)
" the surprise in Poor Players' production of As You Like It is how little its cross-gendered casting affects the charming final result”
- Pam Kragen, North County Times
THE MERCHANT OF VENICE (2005)
" a marvel to watch--."
- Rob Hopper, San Diego Playbill
"Baird and his pals usually strike an artful balance between Shakespearean values and the pop counterculture gestalt that feeds on them."
- Martin Jones-Westlin, San Diego Citybeat
" hip and relevant."
- Pat Launer, SDTheatreScene
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (2005)
"…direction of the show is sensual, effective, and creative.’ - Rob Hopper, San Diego Playbill
"delightful."
- Pat Launer, SDTheatreScene
"inventive direction and a host of fine performance.”
- Pam Kragen, North County Times
ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA (2005)
"The deaths are heart-stopping and heart-breaking.. They make Shakespeare fresh and young and relevant."
- Pat Launer, SDTheatreScene
"…one of San Diego's foremost interpreters of Shakespeare…."
- Jeff Smith, San Diego Reader
"What can be one of Shakespeare's more plodding works becomes a vigorous, passionate, tragic, and at times surprisingly humorous tale in the hands of Director Nick Kennedy and the Poor Players cast.
"Richard Baird and Amy Mayer set the tone from beginning to end with their exceptional, captivating performances.
Max Macke turns in another great performance.” - Rob Hopper, San Diego Playbill
"Poor Players clarifies a bit of the history and squeezes much of the pungent juice from this late tragedy.” - Anne Marie Welsh, San Diego Union Tribune
"It's refreshing to see just how well Shakespeare can be pulled off without a large budget."
- SpearBearer.com
ROMEO AND JULIET (2005)
"The classic love story of all time received a retelling that felt fresh and original, with the talented group at Poor Players Theatre reaching deep into these characters and the story to find both great humor and great tragedy."
- Rob Hopper, San Diego Playbill
" many magical moments.."
- Pat Launer, SDTheatreScene
MACBETH (2004)
"Baird conveys how Macbeth stands outside himself watching with sardonic horror, culminating in a nihilistic and cynical, "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow." There is something about him (Baird)-perhaps a touch of the Wellesian-that makes me urge you to catch him here, early on."
- George Weinberg-Harter,BackStage West
"In the Poor Players Macbeth, soldiers come on stage with automatic weapons, eerily evoking today's soldiers in Iraq, and they smoke pot when the dirty work is done."
- Jennifer de Poyen, San Diego Union Tribune
"In the title role, Baird soars."
- Mark Jones-Westlin, San Diego CityBeat
"Performed in 90-breathless minutes, Poor Players' Macbeth is the most riveting, visceral and exciting production of this play ever witnessed, and I've seen more than a handful over the past 50 years."
- Charlene Baldridge, La Jolla Village News
"Poor Players hits bulls-eye with dark, robust Macbeth."
- Pam Kragen, North County Times
"Ever since I saw Poor Players production. I've been haunted by it..this is a powerful production."
- Pat Launer, SDTheatreScene
"Poor Players is on the fast track to becoming one of San Diego's "Theater Wonders." "
- Carol Davis, San Diego Jewish Times
"... something primal this way came."
- Jeff Smith, San Diego Reader
"Stand not upon the order of your going, but go at once to Macbeth!"
- Jenni Prisk, Our Town
MEASURE FOR MEASURE (2004)
"... when it comes to the dramatic personae, Poor Players soar."
- Pat Launer, SDTheatreScene
"... commanding performance."
- Carol Davis, San Diego Jewish Times
"Brandon Walkers funny Pompey, Richard's Baird's "snow-broth" Angelo, and Justin Lang's Lucio."
- Jeff Smith, San Diego Reader
TWELFTH NIGHT (2004)
"Poor Players have a wealth of creativity and imagination, and they enrich the San Diego theater scene."
- Pat Launer, SDTheatreScene
"Baird, one of the best young actors around, maybe in the country."
- Jeff Smith, San Diego Reader
MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR (2004)
"You've got to hand it to Poor Players. They're not afraid to approach the work of William Shakespeare in brave new ways. The transposition of Merry Wives from 17th-century England to America's Deep South is highly imaginative."
- Pam Kragen, North County Times
TAMING OF THE SHREW (2004)
"Poor Players evinces heart, warmth and originality in its current production of William Shakespeare's feminist-era problem play, The Taming of the Shrew.
- Charlene Baldridge, North County Times
HENRY IV PART 1 (2004)
” I inhaled second hand smoke, dodged swords and flying suds, and reveled in watching the spit fly from a most articulate tongu."
- Charlene Baldridge, Fahrenheit
" hip, muscular, upbeat and updated production. The language, mercifully, remains intact."
- Pat Launer, SDTheatrescene.com
HAMLET (2003)
"Poor Players' Hamlet was a reminder that all one needs is four walls and a Will to have a grand evening."
- Charlene Baldridge, Fahrenheit
"Skittish, stormy, a spoiled brat yet worthy of angels' flights, Baird's moving Hamlet"
- Jeff Smith, San Diego Reader
“Kennedy has captured the essence of the play's greatness…And Baird, who is artistic director of Poor Players, is a superb Hamlet."
- Pam Kragen, North County Times
CORIOLANUS (2003)
"… fire, intensity and passion.” - Tony Kopec, from the North County Times
"The cast was excellent. This was great theater."
- Lori Miles, from the North County Times
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (2003)
"I've attended performances by some of the country's premiere Shakespeare companies, including the Illinois and Utah Shakespeare Festivals. Yet the Poor Players' production of Much Ado About Nothing was as polished and professional as any Shakespeare play I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. “
- Dawn Bradley, from the North County Times
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