Washington Post - Highly Recommended
"...The enchantment is amplified by a superb cast led by Finn Wittrock, Shuler Hensley, Julie Halston and, most especially, Sarah Wayne Callies as a Budapest stage star who may or may not be aware that the mustachioed count putting the moves on her is her husband in disguise."
Washington Examiner - Highly Recommended
"...There is a delightful absurdity in "The Guardsman" in the Actor's jealousy of himself and some intriguing in-jokes about actors and acting. But its central charm comes from delicate probing into the nature of the love between the Actor and Actress, the most romantic of romantic couples."
Baltimore Sun - Somewhat Recommended
"...Judging by the matinee I attended, the new production could use a dash more energy and electricity. Director Gregory Mosher keeps the pacing rather spacious in the first act, and never shifts into the highest gear thereafter, almost as if he were reluctant to let too much laughter obscure the deeper layers."
Washingtonian - Highly Recommended
"...A little reimagining goes a long way in the Kennedy Center's sparkling, emotionally mysterious new rendering of an old play, Ferenc Molnar's 1910 comedy of marital misunderstanding, The Guardsman. If you're a real theater buff, you'll want to compare this show with Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing at Studio Theatre. Each explores love and infidelity, but quite differently."
DC Theater Arts - Highly Recommended
"...It is easy to love to laugh or laugh at love, whichever you prefer along with The Guardsman at The Kennedy Center. The original play written by Ferenc Molnar, tells the story of The Actor and The Actress (Sarah Wayne Callies) in Budapest in 1910 who marry and after six months their love falls flat. To entice his bride, The Actor (Finn Wittrock) tries to deceive her by convincing her to fall in love with a local guardsman, which is actually him in a "disguise". Hilarity ensues from there as his plan seems to crumble before his eyes."
The Georgetowner - Highly Recommended
"...If you're interested in theater, you should go see "The Guardsman," and watch what happens. The audience, I noticed, after a quiet beginning, steadily got into the grand deception as if they were at the racetrack with something to win or lose. When the couple kissed at one point, you could hear a voice in the back yell, "Yes!""
MD Theatre Guide - Highly Recommended
"...What makes The Guardsman particularly rewarding is not its themes per se-why only two nights before I saw Stoppard's The Real Thing examine the same very subjects (though Stoppard's script handles the matter not nearly so well). What makes Molnar's The Guardsman so exquisite is the grace and nimbleness of its storytelling. Using the artifice and imagination of the stage, he sets about to explore the artifice and imagination of love's madness. With a craftsman's delicate touch, Molnar creates an unreal story about a too real-dynamic, and in so doing, delights his audience even as he allows that audience to peer into its own depths."
DCTheatreScene - Recommended
As a comedy, Molnár’s play is a turn-of-the-last-century drawing room amusement that’s deliciously laced with touches of French farce. But on the flip side, Molnár’s sadly familiar chronicle of a still-new marriage rapidly headed for the dustbin of history adds unexpected elements of tension and poignancy to the mix.
