Adriana discusses her newly commissioned work through the Middle East America Distinguished Playwright Award and mentoring at risk girls in Los Angeles:
As a guest of Jennifer Berry’s, on Zocalo Radio program on KPCC, Adriana talks intimately about how writing and performing TAKING FLIGHT has impacted her life:
To listen: Click on link below and then scroll to June 18, 2006
Sevan is magnificent as Conchita, a plain, repressed and ignored wife who blooms sexually while listening to Juan Julian read "Anna Karenina's" riveting romantic passages. She excels in an almost unbearably intimate scene, frankly describing specific details of her illicit lovemaking to her husband. New Jersey's McCarter Theater is set for a Nov. 16 Broadway opening, but SCR's version has portrayals by Adriana Sevan, Jonathan Nichols and Tony Plana that would be tough to top.…
By Joel Hirschhorn/Variety
Anna In The Tropics at The Coconut Grove Playhouse directed by Pulitzer Prize winner Nilo Cruz
Adriana Sevan and Carlos Orizondo are compelling as husband and wife, with a longingly tormented chemistry together like that of Maggie and Brick in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.
Review by John Lariviere
The Clean House at South Coast Repertory
Dressed in casual, mournful black, yet played with pelvic-pumping gusto by Adriana Sevan…Here, as in SCR's production of Nilo Cruz's "Anna in the Tropics," Sevan radiates the warmth of a youthful life force.
By Anne Marie Welsh /The San Diego Tribune
Two Sisters and a Pianoat South Coast Repertory
Adriana Sevan leads the tremendously skilled cast. As the conflicted protagonist, her glacially expressive face speaks volumes. Brilliantly negotiating with her captor, she shows us only what a steely noblewoman under fire would.
“Ms. Sevan is fascinating as Maria Celia. She projects an air of composure that seems to hover lightly over deep passions. She also has a warm sonorous voice that adds lushness to Mr. Cruz’s words-”
By Amy Gamerman/ Wall Street Journal
“Sevan… is magnetically self-possessed…”
by Ben Brantley/ New York Times
“Adriana Sevan, the controlled and controlling Maria Celia, holds herself high, with elegant restraint, till emotion sweeps over her like wind bending a sapling.”
by Michael Feingold/ The Village Voice
“the luminously sensual and elegant Adriana Sevan…”
By Linda Winer/NEWSDAY
Press for TAKING FLIGHT:
“The best dramatic monologists conjure not just people, but worlds with their well chosen words. Sevan joins the ranks of the best with her harrowing, humorous, and openhearted, TAKING FLIGHT.”
Anne Marie Welsh/SD Union Tribune
“Sevan is funny, pensive, poignant, brave, and utterly captivating in a piece that speaks to everyone who’s ever had a friend or been one.”
Jean Lowerison/GL Times
"Brave Lady. Brave Tale. Brave Performance."
Daily News/Evan Henderson
"....enthralling play....Sevan is a remarkable actor and storyteller. She flows seamlessly between portraying herself and the other character....Her strong charisma and her ability to keep the pace fast without feeling rushed are impressive. The tightly written script is honest and unafraid to jump radically from dark moments to humorous ones. The play is ultimately about not giving up....a celebration of life....and an example of how good a one person show can be. Kirk Douglas came onstage and praised her talent and her bravery. He was right on both accounts."
BackStage/Jeff Favre Critics Pick
"Adriana Sevan....is an energetic, endearing, enthusiastic, intriguing writer and performer. She craftily mixes comedy with tragedy....using the art and power of the spoken word. Out of it comes a message for mourners as well as survivors."
Hollywood Reporter/Ed Kaufman
"An inviting character study with a cinematic air....has all the earmarks of a Hollywood chic pic, but pays dividends in the theatre through rich description and exacting language. This work has a healthy life ahead of it.”
Variety/Phil Gallo
".....spinning a thought-provoking tale out of diverse autobiographical threads....TAKING FLIGHT bears witness to the way personal struggle connects to larger public conflict.”
LA Times/Charles McNulty
“TAKING FLIGHT soars from take-off Moment 1 to landing Moment 80! I pondered between which elements… Sevan’s writing of the script or acting out of the numerous wonderful characters, which was the more brilliant? This play was a moment (80 of them) of tremendous theatre satisfaction!”
Rob Appel/SD Theatre Scene
“Sevan was incredible….with an amazing story to tell…and she tells it stunningly! The humor, the emotion, and the joy of discovery are palpable in this story of healers, shamans, and women who care. A real celebration of life!”
Jeff Dowler/Coastal San Diego
“Sevan is a magnificent performer…she’s warm, funny, intense, multi-lingual, physically agile, spiritually centered and graceful. Her story of healing and help, of the limits and boundaries of friendship and love is told through a pitch perfect performance, under the direction of Giovanna Sardelli. It’s a marvelous way to spend a brief, enlightening, life-affirming evening.”
