MUTUAL PHILANTHROPY by Karen Rizzo Ensemble Studio Theatre- LA 2016
Mutual Philanthropy is a multi-layered masterpiece. Written by Karen Rizzo and directed by Dan Bonnell, Mutual Philanthropy is one of those plays that draws you in slowly, and then leaves you sitting on the edge of your seat and holding your breath.—-Discover Hollywood
Veteran director Dan Bonnell’s ensemble staging and pacing provide a promising launchpad for a homegrown new play that leaves us wanting to see even more of the fallout from an engagingly comic falling out.—LA TIMES
JOHN IS A FATHER by Julie Marie Myatt The Road Theatre, North Hollywood 2016
Directed with clarity and sensitivity by Dan Bonnell- LA TIMES
"The play, under the tight direction of Dan Bonnell, is slow-paced, with long pauses that serve to heighten the emotional content of the conversation between the defensive father and his determined daughter-in-law.”- Santa Monica Daily Press
BIRDER by Julie Marie Myatt The Road Theatre, North Hollywood 2016
Under Dan Bonnell’s nuanced direction, an all-around terrific cast give Birder the kind of Grade-A World Premiere production that has become a Road Theatre hallmark... -StageSceneLA
The director, Dan Bonnell, and the cast, inhabit Myatt’s words in such a naturalistic and understated fashion that one could forget it is a play and imagine eaves-dropping on a conversation anywhere, even at home. —Tolucan Times
THE LAST ACT OF LILKA KADISON By Abbie Phillips, Heidi Stillman Falcon Theater/ Lookingglass (Chicago)
It’s hard to imagine four more richly developed characters or four more fully realized performances than those now on the Falcon stage under the inspired direction of Dan Bonnell. - StageSceneLA
Accordingly, director Dan Bonnell, atop his game, maneuvers this study of aging North Hollywood fusspot Lilith Fisher (Mindy Sterling), her titular younger self (Brittany Uomoleale) in 1939 Poland and the Pakistani home healthcare nurse (Usman Ally) and Warsaw Ghetto ghost (Nicholas Cutro) who bring catharsis into arresting, acutely beautiful serio-comic areas.—LA Times
AIRBORNE by Laura Jacqmin Ensemble Studio Theatre- New York City 2010
Airborne is a strikingly beautiful piece of theater. ---CURTAIN UP A taut, wrenching tragedy. Evocatively directed by Dan Bonnell.---EPOCH TIMES The work unfolds with curious beauty…---THEATERMANIA Mysterious and visually arresting….---BACKSTAGE
FREE MAN OF COLOR by Charles Smith Colony Theatre, Burbank 2010
Director Dan Bonnell endows this beautifully crafted account with unerring spatial sense and a taut inner pulse.---LA TIMES Bonnell provides an impeccable production, ensuring that human motives always inform the crackling wit and debate.---BACKSTAGE
SPIDER BITES by Jacqueline Wright Theatre of Note, Los Angeles 2008
Bonnell matches Wright’s viscerally vivid poetry note for note with graphically compelling stage imagery, precisely tuned blocking and a razor-sharp ensemble.-----LA WEEKLY
Spider Bites pounces on it s eagerly willing prey in 11 short un related scenes, which, under Dan Bonnell’s superbly inspired direction, are tied together as effortlessly—and creatively—as any thread of troubling dreams might be.----ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
HEADLESS by Lea Floden Ensemble Studio Theatre-LA 2007
Dan Bonnell's vivid staging catches the phantasmagoric edginess of these people as they swirl across the stage— attacking, re-grouping, wincing, threatening, making love.----CURTAIN UP
The highlight of director Dan Bonnell’s atmospheric staging is the carny’s delightfully sinister ambiance… The sideshow vignettes are remarkably believable and vivid — particularly the startling special effect of the headless-lady trick.---LA WEEKLY
Part of our fascination with carnival freak shows is the distorted mirror they hold up to our own natures. In Lea Floden's "Headless," the more twisted that mirror, the better a sentiment taken to heart in Dan Bonnell's inventive, atmospheric staging for Ensemble Studio Theatre-L.A.----LA TIMES
ANATOL by Arthur Schnitzler Pacific Resident Theatre, LA 2007 LA Drama Critics Circle Award- Best Director
Director Dan Bonnell weaves a bevy of amorous foils around Letscher's delightful roué.---LA TIMES Dan Bonnell’s savvy production coalesces around Letscher’s formidable performance in the title role. As a fatuous bore, he is both unfailingly believable and adroitly entertaining as he rummages the depths of his character’s bottomless ego.---LA WEEKLY
BASH by Neil Labute Odyssey Theater, LA 2007 Theatre les Deschargeurs, Paris, France 2007 Nominee- LA WEEKLY Directing Award
Playwright-filmmaker Neil LaBute pulls no punches. Neither do his characters in the superbly staged guest production of "Bash" at the Odyssey Theatre. Dan Bonnell's precise staging hits all the right notes with only the subtlest embellishment —daring us instead to find our own way to fill the ethical void. Sentimentalists need not apply.---LA TIMES
Under Dan Bonnell’s exquisite direction, the committed cast has crafted a spine-tingling and thought-provoking event.” ---LA WEEKLY
“Thick with meanings and levels, opening our eyes to aspects of humanity most of us pray we'll never have to see in our loved ones. Dan Bonnell's direction is superb.”---BACKSTAGE WEST
HAPPY END by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill Pacific Resident Theatre- LA 2006 Best Revival Award, LA Drama Critics Circle 2006
Unashamedly reveling in the exhilarating burlesque silliness of the antiquated conventions…Dan Bonnell’s production triumphs on all levels. Bonnell has elicited a painstakingly authentic physical design that’s as important as the richly nuanced performances in reinvigorating this ancient comic melodrama…a flawless recreation of 1920’s era musical comedy stylization.----BACKSTAGE WEST
Director Dan Bonnell sustains a sure touch, from the picket line “Hosanna Rockefeller” to the humanitarian finale. His sterling forces embrace the social satire and music hall moxie. At times, such definitive assurance makes this revival seem, to quote “Bilbao Song” fantastic, beyond belief.----LA TIMES
Dan Bonnell’s stylized touch makes this piece a delight from start to finish. The extensive musical selections are knockouts, sung with passion and sass by an outstanding cast. Bonnell’s winking direction snaps like a gym towel.----LA WEEKLY
STAGE DIRECTIONS by L. Trey Wilson Ensemble Studio Theatre-LA 2005 NAACP Directing Award GLADD Media Award, Outstanding Los Angeles Theatre Best Play- LA Weekly Award Nominee- LA Weekly Directing Award
L. Trey Wilson’s comedy turns the rehearsal into a magnificently lucid exposé on the intricacies of homophobia within the African-American community — though the ethnicity is largely beside the point. The ensemble is awash in charisma, under Dan Bonnell’s pinpoint staging.----LA WEEKLY
…the remarkable thing about director Dan Bonnell's lucid premiere production is how smoothly it all plays out, providing crisp humor and profound moments of serious reflection. His stark environmental staging perfectly suits a play depicting a rehearsal, driving Wilson's resonant themes home with sharp immediacy. --BACKSTAGE WEST
