Press

ADVANCE MAN – Backstage Critics Pick, New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Premiere Production

“Fascinating, suspenseful, and gripping… Mac Rogers is one of the most intriguing playwrights working today.”
– Broadway World

“This effectual first part thrives in its persuasive entangling of science fiction with straightforward domestic drama.”
– Backstage, Critics Pick

“Rogers’ writing is daring…I was with this play every moment. And I eagerly wait what happens next in part two.”
– nytheatre.com

“The highly promising start to a Sci-Fi trilogy…the funny, compelling script and the full commitment of the cast leave the audience wanting to learn how this saga plays out.” – Flavorpill

“It’s always nice to see Sci-Fi wrested from movies and TV and brought back to the stage. This is especially true when it is in the hands of talented artists like Mac Rogers and director Jordana Williams… If the first play in the series, Advance Man, is any indication, Rogers has written another sci-fi hit.” – StageBuzz

“If you want to make an argument for bringing science fiction to live theater, look no further than Mac Rogers’ Advance Man.” – Tor.com

BLAST RADIUS – New York Times Critic’s Pick

“Crackling exchanges are at the core of “Blast Radius,” the suspenseful second part of an alien invasion trilogy by Mac Rogers (“Advance Man” was first), whose confident writing displays deep affection for the genre.” — The New York Times

“It takes bold theater artists to write and stage even one play about a full-scale alien invasion; come June, playwright Mac Rogers and director Jordana Williams will have done three of them…the full trilogy looks to have the makings of an overwhelming opus, one that succeeds by holding true to character and relationships even in the midst of heavy science-fiction scenarios.” – Backstage

“Blast Radius is a moving piece of theatre that pays a deep respect to its genre, but ultimately transcends it. This triumphant production shows that, while we’re dealing with complex things that are out of this world, the heart of any great Sci-Fi piece, or for that matter any great drama, is its simple humanity.” – nytheatre.com

“As with Advance Man, Rogers uses science fiction to interrogate the fundamental, albeit unarticulated, philosophies that support revolutionary politics…As I mentioned earlier, genre works for Mr. Rogers because he allows its built-in logic to drive the plot. Consequently, not a scene feels superfluous or out of place, and the action skips along, keeping the audience on the edge of its seat for over two hours.” – Cultural Capitol

SOVEREIGN – New York Times Critic’s Pick, Backstage Critics Pick, Time Out Critics Pick, Flavorpill Editor’s Pick

”As in ‘Blast Radius,’ Mr. Rogers displays an impressive control over his sprawling material, creating a convincing post-apocalyptic world inside a sturdy theatrical structure.” – The New York Times

”…a play every bit as rich and daring as the previous two… ably completing the long and stirring transmutation through which Rogers has taken these characters-from small domestic anxieties to far-reaching debates about mankind’s survival in the face of oppression and moral decay.” – Backstage

“Rogers skillfully builds a two-act real-time drama with surprise and shock galore. I won’t say anymore about the plot, but I was on the edge of my seat with occasional tears stinging my eyelids…This is science fiction, but first and foremost, it’s effective drama… I feel honored to have borne witness to this magnificent series in its entirety. Go.” – BroadwayWorld.com

“The crackling alien-takeover drama can operate independently of its former installments. In fact, winding blind through the narrative maze…creates the sensation of gradually unfolding truth, of hearing a story at the edge of great complexity. As for those who saw sections one and two, I’m assuming you were there at the Secret Theatre ahead of me. Who could stay away?” –Time Out New York

“…The Honeycomb Trilogy is a welcome experiment. Here’s to a playwright who’s interested in very big moral issues, and whose take on the family drama — those siblings are positively Greek — at least doesn’t unfurl on one of the Design Within Reach interiors so common on our stages.” – New York Post

“..an intimate, emotional work, bridging the head and the heart without ever resorting to pathos or unearned sentiment… The emotional material here is so deft that it pushes for real estate on a par with Shakespeare, Ibsen and O’Neill… So make the time to catch this show – you’ll regret it if you don’t.” – New York Press

“Sovereign is a mixture of Greek tragedy, courtroom drama, and epic science fiction adventure…Mac Rogers does justice to both the art of science fiction, and the medium of theater throughout the series. His writing is ambitious and surprising…Gideon Productions has certainly set high stakes for serialized theater with these three shows, and is definitely a group to keep on your radar.” – Show Business Magazine

VIRAL – Independent Theater Bloggers Association Best Off-Off Broadway Play

“(Another production) lacks the brooding darkness of the haunting new work by Mac Rogers, “Viral,” about three lost souls sexually aroused by the idea of filming someone’s death. When they find a willing star, the play becomes about the eerie banality of staging and distributing the gruesome film…. Audience members guffawed at moments that, to me, seemed deeply melancholy. But their response may in part be because the play generates unease and anxiety without providing any release for it. It’s like a horror movie without the shocks… you almost have to laugh.” – The New York Times

“…prepare to laugh at times and feel troubled at others as you watch the excellent cast capture these unusual characters: one who must deal with the decision of whether to take her own life, and others in an obsessive pursuit to film that moment for sexual pleasure and eventual distribution. Apparently there is a market for those videos; there should be one for this play, too.” – Time Out New York

“Blessed with an unflinching script and a quartet of very funny performers, the play begins as the blackest of comedies before transforming into an uncompromising look at how we choose to live. …But as funny as Viral is, it’s Stewart’s harrowing monologue about the courage it takes to recognize one’s weaknesses that will haunt you for days afterward.” – Backstage

“With a decidedly dark comic bent, Rogers’ play explores not only the ways people can exercise control in their lives, but also the ways in which human existence — in its widest sense — has become a commodity in the Internet age…Viral satisfies and its story lingers well after its final moments.” – Theatermania.com

“Uncompromising, provocative and often bitterly funny.” – Show Showdown

“…a dynamic, fun, and perceptive comedy…Rogers’s script provides plenty of laughs as well as poignant moments of reflection.” -nytheatre.com

“At the top of the list is Mac Rogers’ Viral, a challenging black comedy that tackles the issue of assisted suicide in the age of the internet with wit, humanity, and an understated elegance and economy of writing that is often lacking in “issue” plays…This is one of the best plays we’ve seen in New York in a very long time, and we see a lot of plays.” – Flavorwire

“Having now seen several of Mac Rogers’ plays, I think he is destined for great things. Catch this show if you want to be able to say you knew him when.” – Stagebuzz.com

“The most addictive thing about Mac Rogers’s writing is that even when his characters say the darnedest things, you never for one second doubt that that’s exactly what they’d say.” – That Sounds Cool

UNIVERSAL ROBOTS – Independent Theater Bloggers Association Best Off-Off Broadway Play

“…one of the best new works I’ve seen in the theatre all year…A drama that’s astute, ideological in the best possible way, and enormously compelling and entertaining. t’s tremendously skillful alternative history, culminating in a robot rebellion that makes for an edge-of-your-seat finish equal to the best story-telling of stage or screen. This is brilliant drama.” – nytheatre

“Universal Robots is a play that is not only a current must-see, but one that deserves more productions. It deserves bigger stages and audiences. It, like the sentient robots it depicts, deserves a life.  Universal Robots isn’t campy, cheesy sci-fi. It’s a work that is capable of shaking you to the core, forcing you to examine your own humanity, ideals, and faith. It was not what I was expecting, and it was everything that I look for in a piece of theater. That has a lot to do with Mac Rogers, a prolific playwright whose work I’d never seen before and will now probably go and see forever. His dialogue is humorous and poignant, and the characters he’s created are finely-etched and lived-in, human and robot alike.” – Pink Raygun

“The script is intellectually challenging, but at times dark and moving…It’s a terrifying, wonderful way to spend an evening.” – SF Scope

“Being able to write interestingly about science, politics, and their implications for society is a rare and commendable skill, and Rogers makes us care as much about these robots’ love stories, war stories, and the birth of their nation as we do about any such narrative.”
– Liz Gorinsky, Tor.com

“Living in a time and place where so much of the popular entertainment is geared toward the lowest common denominator, it is an absolute joy to discover a writer who is creating epic and challenging works of art. Mac Rogers has done exactly that with his surprising Universal Robots…one of the strongest, most exciting plays I’ve seen in years. This one is not to be missed.” – Theatre Online

“An intelligent play that leaves no room for error, Rogers has created a contemporary gem that urges its audience to ponder whether the need for human contact and interaction can be discarded while still maintaining a collective sense of initiative, justice, and achievement.” –New Theater Corps

“Rogers’ version is equal parts historical drama and parable, expertly presenting the moral and political gray areas a servant class of robots would necessitate. The robots’ affecting journey into sentience (and the parallel journey of those who manufactured them) is at once funny, stirring and horrifying.” -OffOffOnline

“In fact, Universal Robots seems much shorter than its actual running time. It is a richly satisfying play, highly recommended to those who enjoy the work of Stoppard and Michael Frayn’s recent plays.” – JB Spins

LIGATURE MARKS
For full reviews from Los Angeles production, click here.

“One thing that impresses me about Rogers as a writer is he’s not afraid to write what screenwriter Philippa Boyens called dialogue that is “performer dependent.” Without two skilled, talented, charismatic and to some extent fearless performers this play doesn’t work. Fitzgerald and Fenning on the other hand remain totally alive, intensely “into” the undercurrents of Terry and Jill from the moment they walk onto stage.”  –David MacDowell Blue – Night Tinted Glasses

“Ligature Marks, a deftly written play, imagines the perfect murder in a totally new way. The production just opened at Theatre Unleashed’s Belfry in NoHo gives it a pair of uncommonly skillful performances.” – Mark Hein – Theatre Ghost

“Ligature Marks is a powerful, thought-provoking, and unabashed effort by Theatre Unleashed to drive the conversation of gender politics forward. While the discussion may be painful, emotional, and challenging, TU recognizes that it is one that must be had, and I applaud the company and its players for bringing the conversation to a new medium.”
– Barbra Dillon – FanBoy Comics

“Seriously unsettling, uncomfortable and fascinatingly delightful Ligature Marks definitely deserves a “worth the ticket” and some seat time for theatre goers looking for twisted, avant-garde adventure.” – Tracey Paleo – Gia on the Move

“Edgy contemporary romcom meets seductive classic film noir as the latter might unfold in an addictive online multi-player computer game not so coincidentally titled “Noir” in Mac Rogers’ Hollywood Fringe Festival hit Ligature Marks, recast, redirected, and restaged by Theatre Unleashed in a production that held me in its quirky, funny, romantic, fatal-attraction spell from intriguing start to breathtaking finish.” – Steven Stanley – StageSceneLA

“With the very recent exception of E.M. Lewis’s The Gun Show, I haven’t felt simultaneously thrilled, revolted, and moved in…..years?” – Cindy Marie Jenkins – Cindy Marie Jenkins