NANCY REDMAN
actor | comedian | playwright | sag • aftra | aea | nyc
For A SÉANCE WITH MOM:
"What makes Redman so effective is not only that she’s totally committed to what she is doing, but that she’s able to persuade an audience that her characters live in a tangible reality... Indeed, Redman’s work hovers between comedy and tragedy, turning a groan into a grin in a nanosecond. What’s more, nothing spoken in the piece sounds hackneyed. Her characters blurt out what percolates in the minds of many people, but for decorum’s sake, they refrain from stating. It’s Redman’s speaking truth that makes her comedy refreshing and cathartic... Redman’s transitions from one character to another are seamless...While it would be unfair to share too much of the ending, it is deeply poignant, inviting one to reconsider death as a mask that our absent loved ones wear. In "A Séance with Mom", Nancy Redman brings a refreshing levity to grave matters. One can only wonder what is next for the ever-amazing performer."
- Deirdre Donovan, Off Off Online FULL REVIEW
"Nancy Redman's 'A Séance with Mom' Conjures Mother-Daughter Hilarity and Love... Redman manages multi-faceted character work, each character in conversation with the other, complete with different gestures, accents, and mannerisms. The effect is riveting and, ultimately, deeply cathartic...Redman's comedy surprises and delights throughout."
- Cynthia Darling, Thinking Theater NYC FULL REVIEW
"One of the outstanding aspects of the production is Redman’s ability to find a clear voice and attitude for each of these characters without slipping into caricature. Considering she remains seated behind a small table for the entire program and can’t rely on too much physicality to distinguish the people she summons, makes this feat even more impressive. The audience is never confused about who is on stage at any moment... there is a great deal to enjoy here, from some true wit (“reality is over-rated”) to interesting character observations (Nadine is “married to her past”) to a lovely rendition of 'If Love Were All.'”
- Bart Greenberg, NiteLifeExchange FULL REVIEW
For THE DOCTOR IS NOT IN:
"Nancy is an expert performer, blessed with what feels like perfect timing... something wondrously instructive available here for actors and students of theater. If you've ever wondered what the difference is between the theatrical genre known as solo performance and the entertainment genre known as standup comedy, just watch Nancy in this show and you'll grasp the distinction.."
- Martin Denton, nytheatrenow FULL REVIEW
"She delivers her hilarious perspective on the inhumanity of the medical profession and throws in an alien takeover just to keep it wild and wacky... Her timing is so perfect and her delivery so succinct that you quickly forget that she is on stage. Suddenly you and Nancy are best friends and she is sharing a ridiculous story guaranteeed to keep you laughing from beginning to end. Nancy Redman never disappoints."
- Laurie Lawson, Electronic Link FULL REVIEW
For CLUTTER: I'm Saving My Life and It's Killing Me:
"Redman, in a wonderful collaboration with Austin Pendleton, delivers a powerful, funny, and poignant performance as a woman who finds meaning in every scrap of paper she's ever had and can seemingly part with none of it... Redman's performance is a study in detail and character. She creates such a real terribly flawed, yet endearing person. She finds humor in almost every sentence she delivers, while finding ways to infuse the moments with the subtle sadness of her issues... A renowned stand-up comic in life, Redman makes great use of her natural talents in the piece."
- Michael Mraz, Indie Theatre Now FULL REVIEW
"A compelling combination of hilarious stand-up one-liners, strategically placed improvisation and poignant performance art... Redman has the audience rolling..."
- Stephen Hanks, t2online.com
For EMERGENCY A La Carte:
"Another year, another successful collaboration for actor/comedian Nancy Redman and director Austin Pendleton... Redman is hilarious and intriguing to watch throughout. She’s been described in the past with comparisons to Woody Allen, Richard Lewis, and Jackie Mason; and while I can see the reasoning behind this and this is certainly amazing company to be in, after seeing her solo shows two straight years, she is distinctively herself: none other than Nancy Redman, and I think the comparisons don’t quite do her stage presence and craft justice... She is just as fantastic an actor as she is a comedian and I truly hope that her solo shows get some more play even beyond the United Solo Festival, because more people should be allowed to discover that."
- Michael Mraz, Indie Theatre Now FULL REVIEW
"Redman is a top level comedian. She's terrific, with a great sense of the incongruous. This is a funny lady - long may she wave."
- Richmond Shepard, Performing Arts Insider
For AT WIT'S END: A Home For Retired Comics:
"Do comedians ever retire?... Ms. Redman answers this question with the zest, gusto, and special flair brandished by only the most seasoned comedians... Ms. Redman's answer to all of this sadness, fear, and loss is not sad or negative, but rather beautiful resilient and life-affirming."
- Melanie Weir, All About Solo FULL REVIEW
"The actress is as gifted as the comic. Within minutes, it was clear that she was in charge. Her delivery, full of digressions and neurotic hesitations reminiscent of Jackie Mason (for whom she used to regularly open), was oddly commanding at the same time... Nancy is such a consummate actress that it was hard to know whether she really needed the cane she used... "
- Jane Goldberg, New York Theatre Wire FULL REVIEW
"Well-known comic and actress Nancy Redman kept the audience at Theatre Row in splits with her one-woman show... 'Truth in humor,' this is the essence of comedy, brought forth by Redman beautifully."
- Lyle Andrew Michael, New York Theatre Wire FULL REVIEW