| MetroWeekly - Somewhat Recommended
"...Driving the play as the not-always-comic battle-ax who almost never stops talking, Mrs. Fisher is an actor's challenge. She is pushy and long-suffering, tough and yet surprisingly vulnerable. Lee Mikeska Gardner (looking a bit young for the role) brings much consistency to the full-on tenor of this under-educated but life-wise matriarch. One credibly feels the iron hand with which she has, for decades, ruthlessly balanced the household budget and the no-nonsense life she sees no point in questioning. When she takes on Amy who loves with a mindlessness Mrs. Fisher cannot conceive, there is a palpable sense of tension as she vies between adamancy, worry and abdication."
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Talkin Broadway - Recommended
"...As solidly directed by Stephen Jarrett, Gram conveys Aubrey's hard shell and resistance to taking responsibility for his mistakes, but he also makes it clear that his feelings for Amy and her family are sincere and that, in his way, he's only doing what he thinks is best for everyone. (His bombastic manner and determined optimism suggest that his modern-day equivalent would be addicted to motivational speakers and self-help schemes.) Gardner earns her laughs as the long-suffering, constantly frazzled Mrs. Fisher, who tries to act as a voice of reason but can't stand up against the relentless battering ram in her life. Wide-eyed McGuff also plays well against Gram, two dreamers facing a tough world."
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City Paper - Somewhat Recommended
"...Secondary players range from adequate (Jenna Berk as an unhappily married relation) to considerably less than that in a production that's as unable to wrest pathos from a major character's death as it is to coax even a titter from the exchange, "The name's spelled Pepper in my paper." "Well, it was Piper in our paper.""
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DC Metro Theater Arts - Highly Recommended
"...The American Century Theater's Show-Off must be seen for its superb performance by Lee Mikeska Gardner and Leigh-Ann Friedel's beautiful set."
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DramaUrge - Highly Recommended
"...But there is so much going for TACT's production of The Show-Off, with multiple performance elements well above the norm, it's a must see in my book. So sure am I of this assessment, I'd "sign on the dotted line." Don't miss it as it'll be a long time before it comes this way again."
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MD Theatre Guide - Somewhat Recommended
"...Director Stephen Jarrett crafts fine staging in this not-as-easy-as-it-looks time capsule. Master Carpenter Jonathan Hudspeth constructed Set Designer Leigh-Ann Friedel's tight, workmanlike house, which focused the action front and center."
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