REVIEWS | vanessasterling

REVIEWS

" Vanessa Sterling was right on as Mordred, who convincingly causes the downfall of Arthur’s dreams. [They] were also excellent in Montgomery Theater’s THE UNDERSTUDY."

- Neal Newman, Philadelphia Theater Arts

"A standing ovation is in order for... Vanessa Sterling... [They] tackle three different roles... [and] often only have a split second to transition from one character to the next using their physicality, voice, expression, and delivery... [They] demonstrate what inventive and strong acting is all about... Garrick Vaughan and Vanessa Sterling's renditions of Agony in both the first and second acts were showstoppers."

- Tony Oriente, Broadway World

"Casting two actors to play the roles of Cinderella's two Stepsisters and the two Princes is a master stroke. Garrick Vaughan and Vanessa Sterling pull the whole thing off with abundant humor and some meaningful insight."

- Rebecca Rendell, Talkin' Broadway

"I especially loved the scenes with Vanessa Sterling as Rapunzel’s Prince and Garrick Vaughan as Cinderella’s Prince. “Agony”, with the two of them as brothers, was a stand-out performance."

- Brenda Hillegas, Philadelphia RowHome Magazine

"Awkwardly distrustful one moment and violently combative the next, Sterling is genuinely disturbing as Prince Segismundo. Their intensity is vital to the success of the play."

- Rebecca Rendell, Talkin' Broadway

"Vanessa Sterling brings an unpredictable wild energy to Segismundo as he embraces his new power, as well as a desperate, raw rage when he processes his years of trauma."

- Kirsten Bowen, Broad Street Review

"Joycelyn the good fairy and Vanessa Sterling as her evil fairy sister Evileen both stole any scene they were in with their over-the-top performances that the characters demanded... Sterling's Evileen was the right amount of scary and camp."

- Beth Vasil, Philly Review

"[T]he scene I loved most in the production was the early scene between Hamlet and Ophelia, the tender one. Vanessa Sterling as Ophelia was for me the finest actor in this production, and in this scene she got gentleness out of him.

It ended without the kind of rancor we are used to, but with a kind of resignation on Hamlet’s part. The intensity of Ms. Sterling’s speaking held the house in silence. No fluttering butterfly this one, she owned her moments... this Ophelia was easily one of the finest I have seen."

- Keith Kibler, The Berkshire Review

"Vanessa Sterling as the aforementioned Ophelia shines in the brilliantly paced second act. When Sterling runs onto the stage, you take notice and hold your breath."

- Will Gallagher, Discover Albany

"Though heavily male-dominated, Vanessa Sterling holds her own in one of a handful of female roles as Lady Mortimer, daughter of Glendower, who sings a haunting Welsh ballad."

- Celia Wren, The Washington Post

"Edmund Mortimer (Aaron Gaines) and Lady Mortimer (Vanessa Sterling) make a delightful couple, and Lady Mortimer’s song is haunting and lovely."

- Sophia Howes, DC Metro Theatre Arts

"The past haunts the present in “Henry IV” — and... in this resentment-scarred kingdom, betrayals beget more betrayals and bloodshed more bloodshed. You can even read this sad truth into the Welsh song that Glendower’s daughter (Vanessa Sterling) sings in one of the production’s most haunting moments: Wild and melancholy, the song seems to acknowledge a deep hurt in the world that a victorious battle — or a spree in a tavern — can only temporarily salve."

- Chuck Conconi, Washington Life Magazine