"Interacting with the music shapes the show each time," Mathews said. "The ambience from the music is almost a third character." - David Dinsmore, Courier & Press
Click here to continue reading.Plath/Hughes-Chicago Musical Theatre Festival
"Plath’s songs are mostly slow and jazzy, Hughes’s often sound like English folk tunes, and their duets balance melody with clashing chords and riffs. My only problem with the music is that I wish there were more of it..." - Tom Williams, Chicago Critic
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Alum turns Plath, Hughes’ marriage into stirring, original musical
"Mathews’ portrayal of Plath is at times explosive, as she deals with her depression and her relationship with Hughes spirals out of control, yet the scenes of Hughes and Plath together early in their relationship are beautifully intimate and tender. Mathews and Krivda have wonderful chemistry with one another, which makes their unhappy conclusion all the more tragic to watch." - Andrew McVea, The Chicago Maroon
Click here to continue reading.Steps Away from Paradise: Plath/Hughes @ Gorilla Tango Theater
"Ms. Mathews and Mr. Krivda played their parts bravely, engaging the audience and each other with generous focus. During a few especially private moments, I felt like an intruder. Whenever they waltzed or sang sweetly face to face, they were a world apart from everyone else, completely alone together." - Chicago Stage StandardRobert Eric Shoemaker's Plath/Hughes
"In the hands of performers Alexandra Merritt Mathews and Justin Krivda, "The emotional heart of each tune rings out, simple and true. Mr. Shoemaker's lyrics...are dense, imagistic, jarring...no matter how complex [the songs] get, [they] never lose their vitality."
- Chicago 3 MediaPlath/Hughes Premieres Tonight at Gorilla Tango
"Actors and singers Alexandra Merritt Mathews and Justin Krivda, both theatre students at the University of Chicago, portray Plath and Hughes with sensitivity, vulnerability, and fortitude."
Click here to continue reading. - BWW News Desk, Broadway WorldTAPS revs up Streetcar at Logan
"...the set design of the second floor also served to enhance a more serious musical interlude sung by Eunice, who was played by the very gifted Alexandra Mathews. As Eunice approached the looping staircase, where she performed most of the song, the audience followed her shadow, which moved between the windows of the second floor of the set. This use of the lighting and set was particularly striking, even mesmerizing; the audience could not help but follow her slow steps, and they were consumed by the foreboding feeling of trouble about to come."
Click here to continue reading. - Ellen Rodnianski, The Chicago MaroonAt Logan, a theatrical method to an artist’s madness
"...after just half an hour of this imaginative, impactful work, it seems perfectly acceptable that a woman smashes into view through the Styrofoam back wall of the stage, grins through the mushy wreckage, and says, “I am Stanislavski.”
Click here to continue reading. - Hannah Gold, The Chicago Maroon