The Convert

A SUMPTUOUS FEAST – The cast is superb from top to bottom, and the tension builds beautifully to gut-wrenching proportions. As humorous as the play is in the beginning, it grows more and more shadowed by menace. How ["The Convert"] plays out is so powerful and gripping that the play’s three hours seem to speed by.

ENGAGING, VIBRANT – Riveting and astounding storytelling; an ensemble of outstanding actors [support] a powerful performance by the stunning Katherine Renee Turner... The audience was on its feet, applauding wildly, with good reason. Don't miss this intriguing slice of history.

A MUST-SEE – A play of monumental power, insight and impeccable beauty... astonishing and absorbing period drama gorgeously written by Danai Gurira and guided with exceptional skill by director Jasson Minadakis. Features a transcendent performance by Katherine Renee Turner. (FOUR AND A HALF STARS)

TOUR DE FORCE – Powerful, gripping... we may be witnessing the emergence of a major new voice in our national theater. One of the most talented ensembles I've ever seen locally. Quite an achievement all around.

TAUT, ABSORBING – "The Convert" is one of those plays set in the past that transcend its period to achieve a powerful general relevance. Features a rich tangle of character portrayed by an admirable ensemble.

A RICH AND REWARDING DRAMA – Beautifully performed and staged, ["The Convert"] builds through well-plotted twists to a genuinely potent climax. [Playwright Danai Gurira] expertly depicts and encapsulates the complexity of the colonial situation with her characters. The principal battleground between all of these cultural forces plays out with riveting force in the deeply moving work of the delightful Elizabeth Carter as Mai Tamba and the magnetic Katherine Renee Turner as the heartbreakingly torn Ester.

THRILLING – A spectacular cast breathes impassioned life into this exciting night of theater that speaks with a refreshing eloquence and authenticity.

OUTSTANDING CAST – Strong performances from everyone... A fascinating drama that sheds light on a part of African history that probably is unfamiliar to most Americans.

A POTENT PIECE OF THEATRE – A very impressive production by an exciting new young playwright... Director Jasson Minadakis with his skillful hand has an extraordinary cast to perform this powerful, absorbing drama... The play is fascinating, with wonderful, riveting characters.

A POWERFUL, COMPELLING DRAMA – Director Jasson Minadakis and his superb cast fill [the stage] with sharply defined characters and well-defined historical conflict. Katherine Renee Turner is stunning, as is Omoze Idehenre. Their characters are vivid and powerful and rich. The supporting cast provides complex human beings rather than cardboard historical cut-outs. It’s refreshing to see a playwright go bold. Danai Gurira is an impressive, kick-ass playwright."

A MUST-SEE – This remarkable work has been carefully and expertly directed by Jasson Minadakis and the cast is so fantastic that it is difficult to think of superlatives worthy of these performances. Each cast member can justifiably be called “brilliant”... The women of this play — the convert Ester, the servant Mai Tamba and the Western educated intellectual Prudence — are remarkable, moving, and memorable creations... [All of the characters] are richly detailed and multi-faceted. This playwright displays a depth of empathy which is only seen in truly exceptional artists... “The Convert” offers tragedy, comedy, history and character at a level of excellence rarely encountered.