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REVIEWS

 

TONYA & NANCY: THE ROCK OPERA
“…Yet this TheatreZone offering deftly navigates that episode while also poking fun at it. That's not an easy task but there's no better director to pull it off than Mark Danni, TheatreZone's founding artistic director.  Seeing a scandal unfold never felt so good.”  
       Harriet Heithaus, The Naples Daily News


NINE
“…theater has a magic of its own that surpasses the surreal. Both Arthur Kopit, the author of Nine, and Mark Danni, the director of this production, understand how to evoke that magic…the most apparently simple techniques of stagecraft make it easy…”  
       Bill O’Neal, The Collier Citizen“

"Mark Danni is a journeyman director, and you can count on him to deliver a professional production. This is why I'm looking forward to TheatreZone's next offering…”
 
     Carla Meekins, Naples Sun Times

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EVITA
“If you ever doubted that someone could pull off a mammoth Broadway musical and work it into a postage stamp-sized stage, go see EVITA as staged miraculously by Mark Danni at TheatreZone.  The production is absolutely flawless.  For starters, Danni uses eight Equity performers.  What a difference, professionalism makes.    Then, to play Evita, he brings in Andrea McArdle.  Yes, the original “Annie,” who does Evita with the same belting energy she had as a kid.
       Sidney Simon, Theater Notes


SWEENEY TODD

“…each death is a haunting, beautiful piece of stagecraft in a show that’s full of them. Danni helms a jaw-dropping production that amazes as it tells the story of the legendary barber hell-bent on revenge in Victorian London.”

       Charles Runnells, The Ft. Myers News-Press

“Director Mark Danni and his cast and crew rise to the occasion. Danni has taken a sharply focused stylistic approach and stuck to it….The movements are tightly choreographed, with no wasted motion.”  

       Bill O’Neal, The Collier Citizen

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HAIR

“… the show succeeds fantastically as a grand spectacle, a credit to director Mark Danni, the whip-crack transitions and constant blur of motion can have the effect of papering over or disguising messages that are still relevant today.”  

       Chris Silk, The Naples Daily News

“The talented young…let the sunshine in, and then they let it keep shining throughout this brisk, joyous production.  That wouldn't amount to much, of course, if the acting and stage direction didn't match that high energy level. Thankfully, director Mark Danni and choreographer Karen Molnar meet that challenge, producing compelling performances underlined by some truly inspired dancing and staging.”   

       Charles Runnels, The Ft. Myers News-Press.

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STEPPING OUT

“The cast meshes seamlessly and flows into different combinations with such ease that at least nine individual story threads all weave together into a coherent whole — a credit to Danni’s directing. The people and their interactions are the heart of this work — and he made sure to highlight that.”                Chris Silk, The Naples Daily News

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JEKYLL & HYDE

“There’s power in style — and Danni gets that. His tiny stage seems a thousand yards wide as Victorian London blooms in all its gorgeously complicated, two-faced and murderous life.  Danni strips nearly everything not absolutely necessary to the plot away, leaving his production to resemble nothing so much as a gothic opera…There’s power in style — and Danni gets that.” 

       Chris Silk, The Naples Daily News

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BRIGHT STAR

“First credit goes to Founding Artistic Director Mark Danni for bringing this one to Naples.”

       Harriet Heithaus, Naples Daily News

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CAMELOT

“This is one of TheatreZone’s strongest musicals in recent history. It shows again that Founding Artistic Director Mark Danni really knows how to handle quality material.” 

       Harriet Heithaus, Naples Daily News

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BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY

“TheatreZone Artistic Director Mark Danni is directing this one, and he never neglects the supporting cast.”

       Harriet Heithaus, Naples Daily News

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I LOVE MY WIFE
"Mark Danni, TheatreZone founding Artistic Director, is at the helm for this one, and he milks the ineptitude for all it’s worth." 
       Harriet Heithaus, Naples Daily News


LEADER OF THE PACK
“Director Mark Danni and his crew got it all right on the opening night …  No glitches, no flubs, no missteps in a performance that sparkled every bit as brightly as the sequins on the second-act costumes…“Leader of the Pack” cobbles a wisp of a book to an amazing menu of hits.  Not too much talk. Plenty of songs. But how to deliver them without being tedious?  Danni and his professional company found the way.”
       Maxine Ginsberg, The Naples Daily News

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COPACABANA

“There’s much to love about director Mark Danni’s creation — starting of course with …  The “Ay Caramba” number… it is worth the price of admission alone.”  

       Chris Silk, The Naples Daily News

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SHOWBOAT

“…credit for this has to go to Opera Naples chorus director Robin Shuford Frank and Mark Danni, TheatreZone artistic director. Danni's thorough stage and musical direction keep the music and action welded well.”  

       Harriet Heithaus, The Naples Daily News

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OUR TOWN

“Mark Danni, the director, borrowed from his day job down at TheatreZone in Naples, did a superb job with the college students.  His direction draws out the best in all of them, and he keeps it moving and very much alive.”

       Sidney Simon, Theater Notes

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