Washington Post - Somewhat Recommended
"...The busy, hopscotch format of "Andy and the Shadows" does at times cause unnecessary confusion: the surfeit of devices -- dreams, memories, soliloquies -- fractures the narrative to the point that it may begin to lose some of the audience. The efficient Topol, however, sees to it that the evening always plugs back into its most reliable circuit: the wiring that binds the Glicksteins. The flexibly angular, architectural set by Luciana Stecconi and the sharp lighting by Colin K. Bills aid in defining variegated corners of Andy's mind, and Ivania Stack's costumes are, as always, assembled with care and taste."
DC Theater Arts - Recommended
"...Born in the shadow of our parents, it is every child's journey to discover the source of light shone on them that ignites the inspiration for prosperity in order to, ultimately, cast one's own projections in this life. Life is complicated, yet it's simple. Confusing while transparent. It's unfair. It's tragic, but offers magical moments and laughter, as well. Life is unpredictable and full of surprises - both good and bad. It is all over the place - seemingly random and disorganized. And who among us hasn't tried to connect the dots to make sense of it all? This is Andy and the Shadows."
Washington City Paper - Somewhat Recommended
"...The second act is too long and its endings too many. Still, I found myself envying Roth's place in this lightly fictionalized family. It'd be nice if his sprawling, talky play could find room to be as interested in anyone else as it is in Andy, but what young man with artistic aspirations isn't self-absorbed? Andy and the Shadows tested my patience, but it's got duende to spare."
Washingtonian - Somewhat Recommended
"...Director Daniella Topol leads the stellar cast. Despite their roles often drifting into the background, Colleen Delany and Kimberly Gilbert pull dynamic characters out of Andy's activist sisters. As his father, Nate, Martin is warm and troubled, halting but firm. It's Andy's late-stage attempts to connect with his ailing father that provide the emotional heft that Andy and the Shadows has been searching for all along."
Washington Jewish Week - Recommended
"...Roth is seeking his own duende, that evocation of his felt life experiences, the creative force and power that is the lifeblood of art making, that hidden inspiration that has compelled him to create and rework a play for more than a quarter of a century. That it is, in many ways, essentially his own story - that of an artist finding his voice and coming to terms with his parents' Holocaust memories - makes it at times almost too personal to watch. Yet, artists and writers draw from what they know - read Miller, or Williams or Kushner and you can easily take a certain measure of each as both a playwright and a man, tracing characters back to experiences they have lived. The same holds true for Roth. What might have turned into a vanity production had he produced it early in his career at Theater J, has now become the fulfillment of a long, circuitous and productive journey, mining his personal stories, wrestling his hidden demons and shedding light on the shadows - his own and those who see darkness in their own depths as well."
MD Theatre Guide - Recommended
"...The Theater J production, directed by Daniella Topol, starts with the 50-year-old version of the protagonist, Andy Glickstein, looking back at his life in the 1980s with his complicated family, who are gathering for dinner."
DCTheatreScene - Recommended
In Ari Roth’s Andy and the Shadows, obsessive filmmaker Andy Glickstein doggedly searches for the momentous, globe-spanning history buried beneath his quiet, suburban life. As the complex, time-shifting drama unfolds, it becomes clear that nothing will stand in Glickstein’s way.