Press Clippings

Art
Williamston Theatre, Williamston MI

“The play is brilliantly performed. Tony Caselli and the cast (Paul Hopper, John Lepard and Bruce Bennett) have refined every moment of the play, physically and vocally, to a delightful level of precision and timing.”
Robert W. Bethune
Between The Lines

“Director Tony Caselli has successfully honed a fine ensemble. He uses silence, explosive yelling and physical action with expert care.”
Ken Glickman
Lansing State Journal

“The real star of this production is director Tony Caselli. He has become a stage master at using time and space to his advantage.”
Len Kluge
Lansing City Pulse

A Picasso
Performance Network, Ann Arbor MI

“A Picasso is ingeniously staged, emotionally moving.”
Encore Michigan

“Performance Network Theatre’s rendition of Jeffrey Hatcher’s A Picasso is as artful as a show can get…both entertaining and thought-provoking.”
Ronelle Grier
The Oakland Press

The Mystery Of Irma Vep
Studio Arena Theatre, Buffalo NY

“Gluing this farcical nonsense together is director Tony Caselli. Tone is the tricky thing when unleashing or harnessing his pair of talented performers… Caselli succeeds brilliantly.”
S. James Wang
Pulse Niagara

“Tony Caselli’s direction binds all the disparate elements of the production together in an intricate structure that produces the very convincing illusion of ease onstage.”
Huliq News

“Tony Caselli should be commended for his direction… the timing is impeccable.”
F. E. Krycia
Hamburg Sun

Ernie (world premiere, by Mitch Albom)
City Theatre, Detroit MI
“Ernie is filled with special moments; funny, wistful, thoughtful, loving. At times it approaches poetry… Tony Caselli manages this team with the skill of a Sparky Anderson. The effect is lean, clean and absorbing.”
John Quinn
Encore Michigan

“As directed by Tony Caselli, the world-premiere production of Ernie is as contentedly simple as its title: a portrait of an unfailingly good man, who loved life and baseball, and who will not soon be forgotten…what Harwell deserves is not a drama, but a tribute, and in this polished, reminiscent, and emotional production cemented by an affectionate lead performance, the experience is one of a precious visit with a treasured old friend.”

Carolyn Hayes
The Rogue Critic

“A superbly professional and polished production… Under the direction of Tony Caselli, a beautiful tribute to its subject and a very entertaining evening of theatre.”
Robert Delaney
The Detroit Monitor

Leaving Iowa
Williamston Theatre, Williamston MI

“Tony Caselli’s direction and the designs by Vincent Mountain and Ted Rhyner are delightfully simple and theatrical.”
Robert Bethune
Encore Michigan

“A show like this deserves repeated viewings, preferably with the whole family carpooling to the theater in a station wagon.”
Yana Levovna
Lansing City Pulse

“I will say right up front, you want to get your tickets to this show RIGHT NOW.”
Jim Fordyce
Michigan Entertainment

Summer and Smoke
Performance Network, Ann Arbor MI

“Director Tony Caselli…known mostly for his excellent comedies…has seamlessly blended various versions of Williams’ script to create a unique presentation that strengthens its characters while stripping it of its excess baggage. The result is a streamlined, riveting and very imaginative production that should excite both Williams aficionados and theater lovers alike!”
Don Calamia
Between The Lines

Every Christmas Story Ever Told
Williamston Theatre, Williamston MI

“Superb actors conjoined through the masterful direction of Tony Caselli… Caselli’s direction must be credited for the chemistry on stage as well as the pacing, continuity and staging…”
Len Kluge
Lansing City Pulse

“Under Tony Caselli’s direction, the resulting show bubbles along like a spontaneous party game…”
Lansing State Journal


Fully Committed
Williamston Theatre, Williamston MI

“…precision directing and acting at its finest.”
Donald V. Calamia
Between The Lines

“Director Tony Caselli continues an unblemished record of taut, high-paced staging.”
Lansing State Journal

“Director Tony Caselli and Gribble navigate the material with ease, nimbly hopping between characters and plot points.”
Lansing City Pulse

Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol
Performance Network, Ann Arbor MI

“Tony Caselli’s sprightly staging provides a refreshing alternative to the traditional version.”
Martin Kohn
Detroit Free Press

“Tony Caselli’s imaginative direction provides “Marley” with a sense of whimsy.”
Jenn McKee
Ann Arbor News

“What’s required of a successful story-theater production are two things: a director who understands the concept and a team of actors who can create everything the audience needs to envision the story.  Both are well delivered in this fine and entertaining production.”
Donald V. Calamia
Between The Lines

Guys On Ice
Williamston Theatre, Williamston MI

“Guys on Ice” may well be the most intoxicating musical theater experience you have this season.”
Bridgette Redman
Lansing State Journal

When you have a good thing going, you keep on doing it. Caselli directed Albright as Marvin back in 2001, and they’re back at it again with excellent results.
Robert Bethune
Between the Lines
The Underpants
The Purple Rose Theatre Company, Chelsea MI

“Director Tony Caselli’s rapid-fire  staging keeps the audience laughing from start to finish…  With such a talented cast, great material and smart direction, it’s hard not to fall under the spell of the delightfully  naughty Underpants.”
Judith Cookis-Rubens
The Oakland Press

“Director Tony Caselli has orchestrated the ensemble flawlessly. Even the transitions between scenes are amusing…”
Bill Hohnke
Chelsea Standard

“Director Tony Caselli has a flair for comedy. His attention  to detail and split-second timing especially shine  in this production.”
Donald V. Calamia
Between The Lines

The Mystery Of Irma Vep
The Purple Rose Theatre Company, Chelsea MI

“Director Tony Caselli, who has done a magnificent  job of bringing this all together, has absolutely recaptured the spirit of Camp culture. You can almost imagine the spirit  of Charles Ludlam hovering over Chelsea, grinning like a jack-o-lantern.”
John Quinn
Between The Lines

“This is a fun, campy, family show that bursts the boundaries of the stage, with such good humor and gentle fun it must surely  warm the air for miles around.  There’s also a plot in there someplace, but don’t ask me to describe it. It just doesn’t matter when you’re laughing so hard your jaws hurt… Tony Caselli has shown his amazing facility with a variety of tricks and techniques, demonstrating amazing strength and depth… You have to see this play. You might want to watch it over and over again.”
Steve Daut
Chelsea Area Chamber

“Tony Caselli’s impressively sound direction provides the production with some necessary structure, so that there’s indeed method in  all this fabulous, madcap madness”
Jenn McKee
The Ann Arbor News

Rounding Third
Williamston Theatre, Williamston MI
(Named one of Detroit’s top 10 shows of 2006 by the Detroit Free Press)

“Director Tony Caselli moves the play unhesitatingly through an entire baseball season. It’s been said that a two-hander show can be dull because the audience knows that no one can leave. Caselli turns that theory on its head with the show’s pacing and energy.”
Bridgette Redman
Lansing State Journal

“Williamston production comes up a big winner… Four out of four stars.”
Martin Kohn
Detroit Free Press

Leaving Iowa
The Purple Rose Theatre Company, Chelsea MI

“The play manages to be sentimental but not maudlin and has a heart as big as the stage in which most of it is set… Director Tony Caselli, Chicago playwrights Clue and Manton, and the cast deliver a show for which braving winter’s chill is a treat.”
Roger Lelievre
The Ann Arbor News

“Director Anthony Caselli nailed this one. Performances, timing and movement all contributed to a seamless whole.  We care for these characters, and the gentle love they hold for each other. If my children were still at home, I’d drag them all to see this play over and over again until they got it.”
Steve Daut
Chelsea Area Chamber

“Anthony Caselli skillfully directs this seamless journey between present and past. With the help of Dana White’s lighting design and Quintessa Duffield’s sound, you’re never wondering, ‘are we there yet?’”
Judith Cookis-Rubens
The Oakland Press

Stand
The Purple Rose Theatre Company, Chelsea MI

“Every once in awhile, a piece of live theater comes along to remind  us why we go to see live theater in the first place. It is live, it is immediate, it is in your face, and it seems a whole  lot more real than anything we see on the screens, big and small. Such is the case with Stand, the Purple Rose Theatre Co.’s current production…”
Tom Helma
Lansing City Pulse

“The actors work well together; Tony Caselli is the director who has them all dance to the music.”
Martin F. Kohn
Detroit Free Press

“Director Tony Caselli draws fine performances from his six-member cast”
Christopher Potter
Ann Arbor News

Greater Tuna
The Williamston Theatre, Williamston MI

“Greater Tuna and its characters are first and foremost exceptionally funny. Caselli, Gribble, and Parker infuse the play’s two acts with comic moments both overt and sly, making mirth of everyday and exceptional occurrences alike. Were the characters merely cartoonish, the production couldn’t be nearly as humorous as it is with these varied, well-formed personas enjoying the comforts and patterns of small-town life.”
Carolyn Hayes
The Rogue Critic

“Greater Tuna explores a small-town collection of small-minded people who are unabashedly bigoted and completely committed to preserving their lifestyle choices. In the hands of Caselli, Gribble and Parker, the mocking is gentle and the satire benign. There is an affection for these flawed individuals that acknowledges while their eccentricities may be individual, their deviation from an imagined norm is something everyone shares in some form.”
Bridgette Redman
Encore Michigan

Photo Credits:
Williamston Theatre photos, Chris Purchis, JD Small
Purple Rose Theatre Company photos, Danna Segrest
Performance Network photos courtesy of Performance Network
Studio Arena Theatre photos courtesy of Studio Arena Theatre
Picture on home page of Tony Caselli courtesy of Andrew Potter