Washington Post - Highly Recommended
"...Appelman commandingly occupies center stage of director Robert Richmond’s capital new staging of “Henry V” at Folger Theatre for, perhaps, the most stirring version of a Shakespeare history play the city has seen in a decade. Tautly constructed and impressively spoken, Richmond’s production conveys with the savvy deployment of a mere 13 actors (one of them a fiddle player) the evolution of a leader from petulant boy-soldier to lionhearted royal statesman."
DC Theater Arts - Highly Recommended
"...Tony Cisek’s set is an enormous sculpture that the actors play on. Andrew Griffin’s lighting fills the space with explosive flashes and then flickers like the sun on water. Michael Rasbury somehow makes Jessica Witchiger’s violin and voice come from everywhere at once. Excellent performances from James Keegan as Pistol, Cameron Pow as Fluellen, and Katie deBuys as charming Katherine enrich the play’s composite portrait of humanity."
DCist - Somewhat Recommended
"...With an exception or two-Edward Christian's King of France seems trapped and stiff in the ornate robes and ruff Mariah Hale has entombed him in, and I could have done with a degree less disdainful bravado from Andrew Schwartz's callow Dauphin-Richmond's slender ensemble comes together nicely. (A mere 13 actors trade off the play's 48 roles.) There's particularly charming work from Catherine Flye as Mistress Quickly and a French lady in waiting, and as the latter she has a fine scene partner in Katie deBuys, playing that inquisitive princess. Pomme Koch is drolly charismatic as the Constable of France and movingly broken as Lord Scroop, one of the English conspirators who would betray Henry for a bag of francs.
Washingtonian - Highly Recommended
"...it's Richard Sheridan Willis's presence as a dark-eyed enemy that most seems to emphasize the play's seriousness, despite its bawdy and irrepressible humor (you may never want to eat leeks again). Unlike the musician (Jessica Witchger) whose semi-permanent presence hovering over scenes occasionally feels contrived, Willis haunts the stage like a mournful ghost when he isn't acting as a solemn go-between. Henry's calls to battle are so stirring that it's hard to resist the impulse to defend England, but Richmond offers us a constant reminder that things are rarely so simple in love of war."
ShowBizRadio - Highly Recommended
"...Together, the elements of the play were inviting, bringing the watcher easily into the story without concern for language barriers. The final element that brought the play together was the music. A lone musician, taking up a violin or once a penny whistle, narrated the story through song, music and tone. The proud, shining moment of England's military history, brought deftly to life by The Folger players, was a triumphant representation of humanity overcoming adversity."
MD Theatre Guide - Highly Recommended
"... There are many reason why you should put Folger’s Henry V on your must see list of shows this year. Of course, Shakespeare’s war epic is a masterpiece and its language makes English majors tingle in their ears, but this particular production, directed by Robert Richmond with Zach Appelman in the starring role, is quite simply a stroke of theatrical genius."
DCTheatreScene - Highly Recommended
I brought a pen and notepad to Henry V on Sunday. Rookie mistake. I should have brought my sword and armor to director Robert Richmond’s muscular and immensely entertaining new production at Folger. In the skilled hands of Richmond and his creative team, history not only comes to life — it becomes the gut-punching present.
