Washington Post - Recommended
"...Constellation augments its classical thrust in a thoughtful way with "Zorro," which continues the company's laudable efforts at delivering intimate theater with high standards for design. The Spanish-mission-inspired set by A.J. Guban and the costumes for comely damas and elegant caballeros by Kendra Rai are shown off to handsome effect in Nancy Schertler's light-scape of sunbeams and moonbeams; we might well be on a soundstage, watching as an episode is made of the 1950s "Zorro" black-and-white television series, with Guy Williams as the masked nobleman, Don Diego de la Vega."
MetroWeekly - Recommended
"...The tall actor Danny Gavigan carries off his split personality role with aplomb - easily switching from a sonorous, svelte leading man in black leather as Zorro, to a foppish, effete Diego in dashing colonial garb. Naturally, Constellation's brilliant, Helen Hayes Award-winning costume designer Kendra Rai gets Gavigan and his cast mates off on the right feet, helping them all pop in fanciful, period-appropriate duds. Melissa Flaim also deserves credit for her work as dialect coach. Though some maintain consistency better than others, the cast speaks in a fetching Spanish-inflected, western-accented English. Casey Kaleba on sword-fight scenes and Mariano Vales and Behzad Habibzai on original music and sound all contribute their own kind of magic to the tale. And it's all further assisted by the decision of Holdridge as director and the company's A.J. Guban on sets to pack the audience on two sides of the action in a center stage in Source Theatre's black-box space. If you look closely, you can make out the letter ''Z'' - Zorro's trademark - in the layout."
WeLoveDC - Recommended
"...Constellation's version of Zorro has hints of a darker tale than the black and white TV episodes and films of the past but doesn't take itself very seriously. Despite a rushed and clunky resolution the show is light, entertaining, and has plenty of action to keep you watching."
Washington City Paper - Recommended
"...As Zorro, Gavigan continues his successful run as D.C.'s go-to athletic leading man. (His recent roles include a collegiate rugby player in Really Really at Signature and an enlisted soldier in Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo at Round House.) Andres Talero doesn't quite have the magnetism for Zorro's political and romantic rival, Captain Ramon. He can fence, however, and well choreographed fights-in slip-and-you'll-stab-someone proximity to the audience-are one reason the play is so watchable. But if you sit in the front row, watch your feet. There are no pounding hooves in this Zorro, like there would be in the movies. But the actors wear strapping boots, and they're out to portray live-action heroes."
Washingtonian - Recommended
"...This can be turgid stuff, for sure, but director Holdridge knows a thing or two about leavening melodrama with drollery and weaving together conflicting tones. She does it deftly here. It was Holdridge who adapted and staged The Gaming Table at Folger Theatre, about 18th-century Brits who gamble compulsively. She also directed Round House's Double Indemnity, about murder and adultery, and Theater J's Body Awareness, about political correctness in all its sincerity and silliness."
DC Theater Arts - Recommended
"...The creativity employed in this production is also noteworthy. Above all, Casey Kaleba's intricate and thrilling fight choreography is the standout element. Swordfights are, of course, a necessity in any production of Zorro, and Kaleba certainly rises to the occasion. The actors do the choreography justice and execute it with precision and enthusiasm. A.J. Guban's scenic design is visually stunning and effective in transporting the audience to territory that's brimming with Spanish and Mexican influences. Constellation has done well to transform its small black box theatre at Source into a playground of sorts for Zorro and his cohorts to use. Kendra Rai's costumes also highlight these Spanish/Mexican influences and are period appropriate as are Mariano Vales' musical compositions. Nancy Schertler's lighting design and Behzad Habibzai's sound design are minimal, but effective in establishing the sights and sounds of Alta California."
MD Theatre Guide - Recommended
"...Playwrights Janet Allard and Eleanor Holdridge (who also is the director) have made a choice to go considerably darker in their retelling of the story of Zorro, the masked avenger fighting in the best interests of the poor. Along the way there are many of the stock characters you remember. There is the comedic prison guard, a lovely girl for Zorro to fight for, and of course the masked avenger himself. In this version you do get some of the backstory of how Don Diego de la Vega became Zorro. I am not going to tell you how, because that is not my job as a reviewer, but I will say it is a compelling story. My problem is, once that story is established the show can't decide if it is a Saturday morning serial or a dramatic piece of theatre. Zorro has his own theme song every time he goes to fight someone, and we get into an exaggerated style of acting. I understand what the writers were going for but, at least for me, it did not quite work."
DCTheatreScene - Recommended
As any fan of Fifty Shades of Grey will tell you, chicks dig guys in black masks.
Before Christian Grey, the Dark Knight and other masked morsels, there was Zorro, who also had a way with a sword and a whip, no double-entendres intended. First appearing in 1919 in the pulp-fiction tale The Curse of Capistrano, Zorro’s combination of derring-do and social conscience has captured the hirsute imagination of men and made women swoon.
