Washington Post - Recommended
"...Ford's is a good spot for this show, not only for the era the historic room evokes but because the theater's director, Paul R. Tetrault, produced the play's world premiere when he was the managing director of Houston's Alley Theatre. Foote had an ear for the stories people like to tell about themselves: Tales of weddings and feuds, inheritances and squanderings - and the deliveries are rich here. The actresses catch all the shades - funny, touching, tart, forlorn - with Schraf, Robinette and Twyford meticulously rendering the small-town sisters and vividly populating the chronicle."
MetroWeekly - Highly Recommended
"...Essentially in-character story-telling, a play like Carpetbaggers can only be as watchable as its players. This is especially true here, for even with his often lyrical and insightful moments, Foote gives his women an enthusiasm for who-knows-who-and-why detail only a maiden aunt could love. Thankfully, with their keen grasp of the rhythms to be found even in Foote's most cataloging moments, this is never a problem for the production's powerhouse trio of actors. Indeed, despite a few teacherly moments catering to Foote's need to set the historical scene, Holly Twyford, Nancy Robinette and Kimberly Schraf bring their women – with all their angst, regrets and joys -- to full and vibrant life."
WeLoveDC - Not Recommended
"...The Carpetbagger’s Children is certainly a look back at a time long-forgotten. However with a story that falls flat in a format that doesn’t really work, the show does little to make that time worth remembering."
Talkin Broadway - Recommended
"...Director Mark Ramont has worked with his actresses to create small-scale but highly detailed portraits: miniatures, one might say. The personalities come through in posture and facial expression: Schraf's determination in the face of exhaustion, Robinette's sense of relief and gratitude, and Twyford's rapturous glow."
Washingtonian - Not Recommended
"...It’s possible that The Carpetbagger’s Children was envisioned as a love letter to simpler times—a romanticized, sanitized version of the South. But Foote instead dwells on the tragedies that befall the sisters, from the ostracism the family experiences for their patriarch’s Unionist views to Cornelia’s deception at the hands of a con man to Grace Anne’s sadness at being rejected by her family. The only remotely cheerful story is that of Sissie, whose repeated song bears the lyrics “Oh, the clanging bells of time, night and day they never cease.” Listening to the women’s stories is like being subjected to the ramblings of a slightly dotty elderly relative, but without the affection that compels you to be interested. Yes, times have changed. But judging from the way they apparently used to be, that’s a blessed relief."
Washington Blade - Highly Recommended
"...The cast — comprised of three D.C. favorites – is a treat. With steady gaze and set jaw, Robinette captures Grace Anne’s lifelong rebellion. Twyford’s Sissie, the self-described baby of the family, is blissfully dim and musical (she repeatedly sings “O, the Clanging Bells of Time”). But it’s Schraf as Cornelia, the sensible sister selected by papa to run the estate, who subtly anchors the play and fares most convincingly as one of Foote’s southern women."
DCTheatreScene - Recommended
Mark Ramont’s pensive, understated production of Foote’s 2001 play has the good sense to spotlight the storytelling talents of Nancy Robinette, Kimberley Schraf, and Holly Twyford without pretense or theatrical varnish, offering up a quietly compelling piece of living American portraiture.
