“Boyd has assembled a team of actors and designers who have translated the script into compelling theater. From the evocative and ingenious set (realistic but with great use of video) vivid costumes, lighting and carefully calibrated music design to the casting of John Cariani as Ever and Paige Davis as Segna, this is a production that attends to every detail.” THE ARTS FUSE by Helen Epstein
“The set by James J. Fenton works wonderfully as it transports among places including Senga’s apartment, the Millenium Hotel Ballroom and a lecture hall at the NY Institute of Technology.” THE BERKSHIRE EDGE by J. Peter Bergman
“The work of James J. Fenton on the sets combined with the projections of Andew Bauer and Mary Louise Geiger’s lighting all worked together to enhance to story. Those elements – so integral to the story – made it clear why Dancing Lessons could only be successfully done on the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage,not in a smaller black box theatre.” -BERKSHIRE ON STAGE AND SCREEN by Larry Murray
“James J. Fenton’s unit set focuses on Senga’s Manhattan apartment in which most of the action takes place. But, also accommodates several detours to Ever’s apartment, a lecture hall in the New York Institute of Technology where he teaches and the the Millenium Hotel Ballroom for a satisfyingly romantic yet realistic conclusion. Those detours are greatly enhanced by Andrew Bauer’s projections, Mary Louise Geiger’s lighting and Christine O’Grady’s choreography. Kudos also to Sara Jean Tosetti’s characterizing costumes.” CURTAIN UP by Elyse Sommer
“The set by James J. Fenton perfectly captures a small, old NYC apartment. This is no glamorous building with a gigantic amount of space. It is small and cluttered. Mary Louis Geiger, the lighting designer, establishes both the space and the mood beautifully. In addition, credit must be given to costume designer Sara Jean Tosetti and projection designer Andrew Bauer. The later does a great job at establishing the scenes that occur outside the apartment.” TWO ON THE AISLE by Karen Isaacs
“The scenic design by James J. Fenton perfectly created the sense of Senga’s shabby, expensive, New York high-rise apartment. Suiting her melancholy there were askew accents. Like the disconfigured window shade. It signifies a woman who regards her living space as nothing more than a place to rest her body when not on stage.” BERKSHIRE FINE ARTS by Charles Giuliano
“Dancing Lessons fills the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage with scenic designer James J. Fenton’s archetypal Manhattan apartment right down to the window air conditioner, fire escape, futon, and coffee table cluttered with an empty white wine bottle and half-full bottle of Cutty Sark. The brick walls framing the apartment and the scrim reveal the apartment hallway, which Andrew Bauer makes well-integrated use of for his projections. These projections help speed the play along and provide not only efficient backstories for NYIT Professor of Geosciences Ever Montgomery (Cariani) and former Broadway dancer Senga Quinn (Davis), but swiftly create a lecture hall, Ever’s apartment, and the final scene’s hotel ballroom. Julianne Boyd helms the play with an ear to its quirks and a finger on its pulse, never letting the two eccentric characters spin off into saccharine spume.” METROLAND by James Yeara
John Cariani as Ever Montgomery and Paige Davis as Senga Quinn.
