PRESS
for JOY (Out Magazine “Best in Theatre 2005” & “Best Musical” nominee, HX Awards 2006)
“Director Ben Rimalower's staging is positively giddy in its imaginative flourishes.”
- Frank Scheck, New York Post
“Director Ben Rimalower shows a subtle touch. There are several scenes that have the cast sing Cole Porter, talk to the audience and show up in drag. Any of them could sail over the top, but Rimalower keeps his actors still. There are no directorial "stamps" like busy blocking or overdone physical comedy. Instead, the focus stays on the writing, allowing the audience simply to experience each moment. Ultimately, "Joy" has found a production that embraces it for what it is. And thank heaven. Harmless entertainment works best when done with style.”
- Mark Blankenship, Variety
“Director Ben Rimalower orchestrates it all with agreeable gusto.”
- Gordon Cox, Newsday
“Ben Rimalower provides "Joy" with fluid staging on Wilson Chin's simple set, where a silhouette of the Golden Gate Bridge can suddenly appear, lit by stars. Under Rimalower's guidance, Fisher's sparkling dialogue and clever narrative turns that break the fourth wall crackle hilariously to life. The director has elicited strong performances…”
- Andy Propst, Back Stage
“There are few faults in this lean, tight production, which has been directed with an impish comic sense and almost perfect pacing by Ben Rimalower.”
- Matthew Murray, talkinbroadway.com
for THE FABULOUS LIFE OF A SIZE ZERO
“The sudden shifts into sadness from comedy are well-handled with smooth direction by Ben Rimalower”
- Gwen Orel, Back Stage
“As directed by Ben Rimalower and played by a crackerjack company of young actors, Size Zero is the epitome of summer cool, a fittingly flashy, and very funny, trip. The play pulses with the giddy spirit Rimalower interjects with his swirling, often provocative staging - an irresistible comic energy that helps get the season off to a sublimely stylish start.”
- Matthew Murray, talkinbroadway.com
“Ben Rimalower's direction is uber-hip, using projections and party music (courtesy of DJ Brenda Black) to enhance the mood and perpetuate the themes.”
- Jena Tesse Fox, broadwayworld.com
“Ben Rimalower stages the play in broad, alluring strokes. Projections, dance numbers, and a hip soundtrack ratchet up the script's trendiness. Rimalower obviously enjoyed staging the script's more vaudevillian scenes…”
- Mitch Montgomery, offoffonline.com
for LESLIE KRITZER IS PATTI LUPONE AT LES MOUCHES (Time Out NY Special MAC Award)
“Leslie Kritzer doesn’t just shine in her talk-of-the-town new show – she explodes like a supernova… Kritzer is channeling a super-sized performance by Patti LuPone, whose status as our era’s top musical theater diva is cemented by this irreverent homage. Kritzer re-creates this legendary nightclub act with a riveting mix of worship, parody and sheer nerve… breathtaking renditions of LuPone standards go well beyond kitsch. This is no mere star reproduction, but a star-making performance all its own.”
- Adam Feldman, Time Out New York
“Strange but wonderful.”
- Charles Isherwood, New York Times
“Ben Rimalower’s deliriously manic direction keeps the energy at a breathless pace, and makes sure that, regardless of one’s opinion of ’80’s camp or LuPone herself, the show is pure and simple fun.”
- Jena Tesse Fox, Cabaret Scenes
for LOOK MA… NO EARS
“Directed with finesse by Ben Rimalower (Joy).”
- Brandon Voss, HX
for SODOM The Musical
“Director Ben Rimalower (Joy) knows exactly where the show’s strong moments are and paces his staging to get maximum mileage out of them.”
- Jonathan Warman, HX
“The character development moved along clearly and concisely. Ben Rimalower has directed a fast-paced hoot-of-a-night-out.”
- Shareshten Senior, newyorkcool.com
for SNOOPY! The Musical (Playbill “Best of 2004”)
“A joyful evening of terrific performances, featuring simple and effective direction by up-n-comer Ben Rimalower I was particularly touched by director Rimalower's staging of the opening and closing sequences, which featured members of the Pied Piper Children's Theatre joining the actors onstage.”
- Andrew Gans, Playbill