MICHAEL UNGER’S SELECTED PRESS QUOTES – MUSICALS

(Click on image to see production stills)

THE HAPPY TIME @ Signature Theatre

Michael Minarik, Carrie Johnson, Tracy Lynn Olivera, George Dvorsky, David Margulies and the Cast

“… a little charmer… effervescent. The Happy Time became the first Broadway show to lose a million dollars. Watching this charming and modest production, you’d never guess that such a fiscal debacle was possible.” (Washington Post)

“The Happy Time” receives a fresh and earnest revival, staged by Michael Unger with ultimate intimacy in Signature’s tiny Ark Theater. Unger keeps the kid-filled cast in perpetual motion… (Variety)

“A picture-perfect production.” (Washingtonian)

The Happy Time is definitely a fresh look at an overlooked jewel of a show. Featuring a spectacular cast, production values evocative of simpler times and fresh, tight direction, The Happy Time will certainly cause (and rightly so) historians to re-evaluate what is a deeply heartfelt and charming show. Mr. Unger has masterfully utilized the tiny space with a simple concept and beautifully paced staging. Wondrous staging and technical craft… one of the most dazzling jewels of the season. (BroadwayWorld.com)

Signature Theatre’s illustrious Kander & Ebb Celebration might end up being most remembered for reviving The Happy Time — Like a lost family photograph that is re-discovered while rummaging through an old trunk, the show generates quietly powerful sentiment with the fleeting moment it captures. Director Michael Unger, aided by composer John Kander, has stripped away the Broadway trappings to reveal a quaint but emotionally intense chamber musical. (TheatreMania.com)

BEHIND THE LIMELIGHT at NYMF

Euan Morton (and Charlie) in November, 2008 reading on Theatre Row

…a genuinely moving portrait that well deserves development. Director Michael Unger’s staging is highly effective, particularly in the moving final moments featuring all three Chaplin incarnations onstage together.” (NYPost)

“Michael Unger directs this ambitious, full-length show with some bold choices and it fills the eye, the mind and the heart.” (Edge, NY)

“There are times when a show begins and you just know that you are in for something extraordinarily special – this is such a show.” (Talk Entertainment)

THE RINK at The Cape Playhouse

Janet Metz and Leslie Uggams

“Director Michael Unger has delivered a musical with quirky, captivating charm that is reminiscent of the debut of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” at Barrington Stage two summers ago, which he also helmed. That offbeat phenomenon quickly found a home on Broadway. This show has the potential to make a comparable leap.” (Boston Globe)

“It takes considerable legerdemain to balance a story of family dysfunction with the periodic upbeat numbers that a musical needs to stay afloat. Fortunately, director Michael Unger never lets the pace flag or the tone go maudlin. The show’s “sour” quality reads today as refreshingly astringent… if there’s any fairness in the world, this show will eventually find its way back to Broadway.” (TheatreMania)

THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE at Barrington Stage Company

(Winner – Best Director by the Berkshire Eagle)

Celia Keenan-Bolger, Robb Sapp, Deborah S. Craig, Dan Fogler, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Saran Salzberg

“The cause of all this M-I-R-T-H and R-A-P-T-U-R-E is “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” a new musical created by a team of divine madmen and women. The production moves smoothly and effortlessly”… – Berkshire Eagle

“Quick, count on your fingers — one hand might suffice — the shows you’ve seen that were so enchanting, you savored every moment and prayed that the curtain call would never come. Now get ready for another: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which recently debuted at the Barrington Stage Company in the Berkshires.” – (Theatre Mania)

CALIGULA at the New York Musical Theatre Festival

“With the help of director Michael Unger’s admirably kinetic staging, [the show] highlights the majesty in Caligula’s madness and its seductiveness” – (Broadway.com)

(Winner – Best of the Fest Audience Favorite Award)

Euan Morton, Gilles Chaissons and the cast at NYMF

Michael Unger, the director, handles the traffic nicely and keeps it all balanced on several tightropes at once: the show is almost camp, almost parody; almost funny, almost a tragedy. – (The New York Times)

KNICKERBOCKER HOLIDAY @ York -Musicals in Mufti

KNICKERBOCKER HOLIDAY @ York Theatre - Musicals in Mufti

Revelatory… It was a tribute to Michael Unger’s direction that its convolutions were amusing rather than irritating. – Howard Kissel (Kurt Weill Newsletter)

THE MIKADO @ The Depot Theatre

The Full Company

Michael Unger’s expert touch…  staged with color and elegance… exciting freshness.  You watch beauty unfold before your eyes. – Glenn Falls Post Star