PRESS
The War Party at FringeNYC newly curated October 2018 Festival
“But The War Party complicates this initial thrill by making Laura Smith (a fearless Jennifer Piech) arresting to watch. Storming across the stage in her pantsuit and hair twisted in a tight bun, swearing, and grabbing every cheap champagne bottle she can find, she is a woman who officially has no f**** left to give. Bitter and angry, bitingly funny and caustic, the soon-to-be-ex-Senator (of which state, we’re never told) is a protagonist who wins the audience to her side, even those who would find her politics repugnant. -Theresa Basile, Manhattan With a Twist, review, “Devisive Politics and Dead Presidents in “The War Party”
The War Party is an exciting play with a strong voice that seems inspired by the playwright’s personal views without being didactic. The show is definitely worth seeing. -Theresa Basile, Manhattan With a Twist, review, “Devisive Politics and Dead Presidents in “The War Party”
“Director Don Stephenson squeezes as much energy out of these three talented actors as the space can hold, and playwright Vincent Delaney’s message that this is “not a country with a future” and that “both parties are absolute trash” is one that both liberals and conservatives desperately need to hear, in an era when fake news and social media are polarizing everyone to an extreme we haven’t seen since the Civil War. If you were lucky enough to score tickets (yes, it’s sold out!), head down to the FringeHUB and be the first in line at the appropriately-colored flag. -Andrew Andrews, Opplaud
“The small ensemble displays a great deal of talent in The War Party, maintaining the emotional whirlwind of a show with hot tempers, explosive confrontations and quiet reflections. Jennifer Piech draws laughs from the audience despite Laura’s oft-obnoxoius demeanor, and she does a nice job of bringing out Laura’s vulnerability and inner turmoil.
As the play progresses, the candidate begins to let her guard down and, in doing so, reveals some painful truths about her family and herself that lead both Jessie and Laura to wrestle with frustrating reality of confronting a deteriorating political system or escaping from it. -Theresa Perkins, MyEntertainmentWorld.ca
Transport Group’s Off Broadway productions of “Inge Rep” – PICNIC (Irma) and
COME BACK LITTLE SHEBA (Mrs. Coffman) closed April 23, 2017
- Drama Desk Award nomination for “Outstanding Revival of a Play” – for PICNIC
- Off-Bway Alliance Awards – “Best Play Revival” nomination for PICNIC
- 2017 Obie Award For Directing – Jack Cummings III, Picnic(Transport Group)
- 2017 Obie Award For Performance – Heather MacRae, Come Back Little Sheba(Transport Group)
“As Mrs. Coffman the feisty German-born neighbor, Jennifer Piech switches from wonderful comic relief to dramatic effectiveness with great ease. Ms. Coffman makes a vivid impression in this supporting part.”
“Piech and Krystal Rowley as Irma and Christine respectively, make the most of their comic relief roles as fellow, unmarried schoolteacher pals of Rosemary’s.” – TheatreScene.net Darryl Reilly
RE: Sheba “Without an outlet for her affections, Lola is unkempt, unfocused, a disgrace to her officious neighbor (expertly played by Jennifer Piech)” – James Grissom Blogspot review
“The acting company is outstanding, with six actors of the company performing in both plays. As I saw both shows in one day, it was fascinating to see the differences in characterizations performed by MacRae, Patterson, Elless, Vickers, Cariani, and Jennifer Piech.” – The Epoch Times, Diana Barth
“These revivals, staged by Jack Cummings III and acted by a first-class ensemble cast, will leave you in no doubt that Inge was one of America’s half-dozen greatest playwrights…Simplicity and intimacy are the keys to these stagings…This kind of bare-bones staging works only if the actors are strong enough not to need to hide behind the production. Mr. Cummings’s cast delivers the goods…” – Wall Street Journal – Terry Teachout
“The shows depict lives in turmoil with deceptive simplicity — an elusive quality that the Transport Group captures in the graceful revivals now in repertory at the Gym at Judson….burst with generous humanity and possessed a sure grasp on the power of intimacy — something these productions skillfully bring to the fore.” – The New York Times, Elisabeth Vincentelli NYTimes Critic’s Pick
“Cummings and his actors also enrich the production with small, telling details” – Theatermania, Pete Hemstead
“…the members of the ensemble cast uniformly deliver authentic and believable performances…” – Theatre Reviews Limited, David Roberts
“Jack Cummings III makes a strong case for William Inge’s importance with productions of Picnic and Come Back, Little Sheba in rep.” – Theasy.com Linda Buchwald
“Transport Group‘s superb mounting of both of these plays in repertory is staged by director Jack Cummings III in an intimate environment that allows natural performances and gentle nuances.” – Broadway World, Michael Dale
TITANIC
“Jennifer Piech, who played the indomitable Kate McGowen, had stepped away from the business for a bit to raise two children and work in real estate. Her clarion voice, her perfect lilt, were as vivid as ever.” – Martin Moran, NY Times, April 2014
“And while we have great performances on our mind: still sailing in high cotton is the Tony-Award-wining musical “Titanic” whose box office set a new weekend high for the fourth time in its run. The standout in the cast is Jennifer Piech, in her Broadway debut as an Irish immigrant: her interpretation is full of life and pathos.” – Liz Smith’s column, New York Daily News
“Jennifer Piech as Kate McGowan, a young Irish woman longing to reach America, wins the audience’s hearts with her blunt, childlike charm.” – The Coaster
“Some performances, however, stand out, among them Jennifer Piech as Kate McGowan, the most dominant of the production’s three Irish Kates, …” – Arts and Leisure
From AS YOU LIKE IT at the Storm Theatre, NYC, NY
“Peter Dobbins, who is the director of The Storm Theatre’s transcendent production of As You Like It, told me that 90% of his success was in the casting. To wit: Jennifer Piech’s lively and lovely Rosalind, an engaging and endlessly interesting performance filled with spirit and intelligence and curiosity and warmth, a radiant center to a luminous play. And Eric Alperin’s Orlando: so earnest and eager and dewy-eyed a young romantic!–does any production in town right now boast such an appealing pair of young lovers?” – Martin Denton, NYTHEATRE.COM
From James Joyce’s THE DEAD at the Huntington Theatre in Boston and ACT (American Conservatory Theatre) in San Francisco, directed and written by Richard Nelson
“Music is central to the party at the home of the Misses Morkan – elderly sisters Julia(brightly distracted Alice Cannon) and Kate (bustling sentimental Patricia Kilgarriff) and their niece Mary Jane (tense, self-effacing Jennifer Piech) music teachers all. – San Francisco Chronicle
“The three spinster music teachers, Kate (Patricia Kilgarriff), Julie (Alice Cannon) and Mary Jane (Jennifer Piech), sing a sly tune called “Naughty Girls” that tells us everything we need to know about their shared attitudes.” – Oakland Tribune
PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD by John Millington Synge, Alpha and Omega Players– NYC
“Much of the success of any production of any play lies in the choice of players…the energetic Jennifer Piech, younger and prettier than most actresses cast in the role, makes a Widow Quin fully as desperate and as ruthless as Synge says she is.” – Irish Echo
AFTER THE FAIR – York Theatre, off Broadway, NYC:
“As the young, yearning Anna, Jennifer Piech, who stole my heart away as Kate McGowan in “Titanic,” is the antithesis of glum. Bringing refreshing uninhibited style to the role, she’s as fresh as a post-adolescent daisy….In one stunning duet, the two women make their cases for the source of true love…” – Two River Times
“As the simple but not stupid Anna, Jennifer Piech is every inch Edith’s match; she’s youthful, lovely, and she sings like a dream.” – In Theatre Magazine
“Jennifer Piech is wonderful as the spirited maid whose roll in the hay is crucial to “After the Fair.” – The New Voice of New York, Inc.
“The superb cast keep this period piece sincere without being overly sentimental.” – New York Law Journal
“Also moving are “Between the Line” sung with tender feeling by Ludwig and Pawk, and the passionate duet between Pawk and Piech, “There’s a Woman/What Is Real,” in which Edith and Anna stake their respective claims on Charles’ affection.” – New York Citysearch
“ As the lower-class Anna, Jennifer Piech, as gifted in song as in dramatic portrayal, gives a refreshing performance, pursuing the man she loves through Edith’s written impersonations.” – Resident
SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, PA
“The cast is competent and professional with special plaudits due to Jennifer Piech who, as Kate Hardcastle, is the object of Marlow’s attentions and inattentions. Kate is a wholesome sort, delighted with the hunt for a husband and with just being a woman. She was so bright that this reviewer found himself rooting for her to find someone of much more substance than Marlow.” – Bucks County Telegraph
“Along with some truly fine performances – notably Dan Olmstead as Marlow, Allyn Burrows as Hastings, Jennifer Piech as Kate Hardcastle…the production projects a sense of style that conveys the flavor of its 18th century origins while still appealing to a contemporary audience.” – News Journal
“…Jennifer Piech…head a resplendent cast of first-class actors in a lovely and farcical revival, briskly directed by Bob Carlton.” – Press Focus
“Jennifer Piech may have a little too much modern irony in her Kate, but her zest for romance is irresistible. The father-daughter scenes are charming and Olmstead generates some genteel heat in his pursuit of Kate.”
“However, other cast members were of sufficient strength to carry the show. Jennifer Piech, for one, who plays the maiden who ‘stoops’ to being a maid to be better wooed by her suitor…doing an admirable job.” – KYW Newsradio
“Jennifer Piech, another Walnut veteran, exults in Kate’s broad accent as the maid…” – Courier-Post
“As Kate, Jennifer Piech gives a bright, animated, very winning portrayal that brightens every scene she is in” – Philadelphia Inquirer
CAROUSEL – Maine State Music Theatre
“The lighter, humorous moments featured Jennifer Piech as Carrie Pipperidge and Buddy Crutchfield as Down East “redneck” Enoch Snow. Their duet “when the Children Are Asleep” proved most entertaining.” –
“Add to that the sparkling Jennifer Piech as Carrie Pipperidge, who shares girlish confidences with the more serious Julie.”
From SINGING IN THE RAIN at the Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, PA
“Jennifer Piech was a lovely talented, Kathy Selden, who captured Lockwood’s heart.”
Jennifer Piech “who is Kathy Selden, is blonde, beguiling and appealing.” – Springfield Press
“…meets Kathy Selden, played superbly by Jennifer Piech, an aspirign young actress who proceeds to make Lina Lamont jealous.” – Press Focus
“Equally charming is Jennifer Piech as the plucky Selden, a role made for and created by Debbie Reynolds.” – The Catholic Standard and Times