“Director Daniel Goldstein gets at all the rough edges of the play, one whose mishmash of accents and seagoing setting must make it a slippery one to stage. His cast — particularly Bill Buell as father Chris Christopherson and Austin Durant as the rawboned seaman Mat Burke — also navigates with skill the peculiarities of the dialogue and its frequent repetitions. Phrases such as “that of devil sea” return as reliably as the tide... And if the bonds among these three — which seem as tattered as the shredded sails above the stage — threaten to mend too tidily at play’s end, Goldstein leaves a sense they’re still at sea. His “Anna” concludes, movingly, with a mist and a shiver.”
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"Director
Daniel Goldstein has shaped a lovely, unified and moving relationship
between his three principals and that’s what matters...A theatre of the
Globe’s stature should have a solid record for important American
revivals. This ANNA CHRISTIE sets an appropriate standard."
- Welton Jones, San Diego Arts
"The
enduring dramatic power of Eugene O'Neill steers "Anna Christie" at the
Old Globe into waters both risky and impressive. O'Neill's 1921
Pulitzer Prize winner about a life-battered tart receives an intimate,
audacious rethink, stewarded by director Daniel Goldstein. Goldstein's
staging deploys striking in-the round tactics... You can imagine a more
redolent, old school "Anna Christie," but there's plenty to admire about
the vitality on tap here. "
- David C. Nichols, Los Angeles Times
"Goldstein's production is tight and tense, an engrossing two and a half hours."
- Charlene Baldridge, San Diego Uptown News
"Eugene
O’Neill’s, “Anna Christie,” which won the author his second Pulitzer
Prize in 1921, has played on numerous stages over the decades, but the
version at The Old Globe this month, may be the best place to see this
heartfelt story yet."
- Diana Saenger, La Jolla Light
"Director
Daniel Goldstein's revival of this 1921 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama
about an old seafaring coal barge captain who reconnects with his
daughter, a former prostitute, and the bond she forms with a
plucked-from-the sea Irish sailor, breathes new life into a classic and
with some modem touches in casting and staging, presents a compelling
theatrical experience that will challenge your views on truth,
responsibility and the redemptive powers of love."
- Barbara Smith, San Diego Voice
"Director
Daniel Goldstein’s vision is perfect for O’Neill’s melancholy prose,
though he also includes personal touches such as when Anna is trying to
make a crucial decision for her future as Joni Mitchell’s song “Blue”
plays in the background. It is risky incorporating the 1970s single into
something that was written more than 50 years prior, but it pays off as
Mitchell’s voice along with Love’s sad silence adds a surprising amount
of pathos. Goldstein’s direction stands out the most in a transition
from Act 1 to Act 2. The unforgettable moment occurs when a saloon is
suddenly transformed into Chris’ barge. This sequence is a wonderful
couple of minutes that cannot be done justice in a review and should be
experienced as a live stage performance."
- David Dixon, The Daily Aztec