Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes the Sea at Atlas Performing Arts Center

DCist - Recommended

"...Still, for most of its runtime, Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes the Sea achieves something that other subversive fairy tales don’t: a real sense of danger. Fiction authors often say at a certain point that they’re not writing their stories, their characters are. This show captures that literary dynamic exquisitely, and unearths the mature stories that fairy tales sometimes can only imply."

MetroWeekly - Somewhat Recommended

"...Intertwining fables with visions of literary and queer history, Julia Izumi’s Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes the Sea deconstructs Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, then carefully reassembles its components into a bright, whimsical new fable reframing the romance between human and a being that longs to be human."

Washington City Paper - Highly Recommended

"...The overall aesthetic is something along the lines of “bubblegum chic,” but there is nothing saccharine about Rorschach’s production. Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes the Sea tends to dismiss the conventions of a “serious” play, but embraces the delights of the imagination and bittersweet nature of human connections. Strasser’s deceptively complex production is a confectionary delight with a twang of heartbreak. Most importantly, it recognizes the heart and celebrates the creative joy of Izumi’s work."

DC Theater Arts - Recommended

"...As upbeat and playful as is the production — and Gregory Keng Strasser’s ambitious direction misses no chance to inject glittery spectacle or a fast-paced chase — there is no getting around the fact that it only thinly disguises the pain that stabs like a dagger when a heart full of hope and longing is snubbed. As much as Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes the Sea looks, sounds, and feels like tasty fluffy cotton candy, it’s a cleverly spun confection concealing a shiv."

MD Theatre Guide - Highly Recommended

"...Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" meets a revamping of that fairytale, starring a Rain Cloud who becomes obsessed with a rain-loving human, meets the sexual confusion/closeting tendencies of the real-life Andersen. Confused? Admittedly, it takes a minute or two to fully fathom exactly what is going on in terms of the plot/metaplot of Julia Izumi's play "Sometimes the Rain, Sometimes the Sea." Once you do pick up the ends of the various threads and begin to understand how they weave together, the production makes for a fun and rather unexpected night of theatre."