THEATRE AWARDS & REVIEWS
McMath, an award-winning historian and prize-winning playwright, has garnered a reputation for producing high-quality theater... — Ann Keisman, Loudoun Times-Mirror
ALL FOR THE UNION - 2019
McMath - Playwright / Producer / Set and Costume Design
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"You bring women's history and stories out of the shadows."
- Lee Lawrence
December 2012 and 2018
Once Upon A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Original Music by Diane El-Shafey with Accompaniment by Carma Jones Denney
Book Adaptation by Meredith Bean McMath
Directed and Produced by McMath
Costumes and Media by McMath
Once Upon A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Original Music by Diane El-Shafey with Accompaniment by Carma Jones Denney
Book Adaptation by Meredith Bean McMath
Directed and Produced by McMath
Costumes and Media by McMath
2018 Production: Phil Erickson as Ebeneezer Scrooge and Shawn Malone as The Ghost of Christmas Present
"Best of 2012" DC Metro Theatre Arts
Best Director of a Musical - Meredith Bean McMath
Best Musical Director - Diane El-Shafey
Best Actor - Phil Erickson as Ebeneezer Scrooge
2018: Phil Erickson as Scrooge and William Henry as Bob Cratchit
Christmas Carol Likely to Become a Loudoun Institution
"... McMath, who adapted the classic Dickens novel for the stage, and Diane El-Shafey, who wrote the production’s original score, have surrounded Scrooge with all the teeming life that fills London, or Loudoun, or any place with music — not just jingles that stick to the bottom of your shoe, but beautiful music that matters and makes sense...
"... McMath, who adapted the classic Dickens novel for the stage, and Diane El-Shafey, who wrote the production’s original score, have surrounded Scrooge with all the teeming life that fills London, or Loudoun, or any place with music — not just jingles that stick to the bottom of your shoe, but beautiful music that matters and makes sense...
Annie Stokes as Belle (Photos by Jim Poston)
"The play's most poignant moment combines El-Shafey's beautiful music with Annie Stokes beautiful voice and our own memories of the loves we've lost." - Mark Dewey, DC METRO THEATRE ARTS...
- Mark Dewey
DC Metro Theater Arts, Dec. 2012
READ THE WHOLE REVIEW
2018 Production, L to R: Penny Hauffe as the Laundress, Sue Derrow as the Charwoman, Clay Noyes as the Undertaker's Man, Chris Saunders as the Beedler, Phil Erickson as Scrooge and Beckett Denson as the Ghost of Christmas Future
December 2013
A MUSICAL LITTLE WOMEN
Original Music by Diane El-Shafey Composer and Carma Jones Denney Accompanist
Book Adaptation by Meredith Bean McMath
McMath as Director / Producer / Costume Design / Media
"A Musical Little Women" offers holiday charm... It brings people together around an inspiring communal endeavor that spreads good cheer all over town."
- Mark Dewey, Shenandoah Press
Annamaria Kendrat as Josephine ("Jo") March
"All the wit and humor, joys and struggles of the marvelous March sisters - Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy - brought to life in a fast-paced, musical adaptation of the Louisa May Alcott classic!"
- Holiday Charm, DC Metro Theater Arts
"In her adaptation, McMath captures the two most important dramatic elements in Alcott's tale of the struggling Civil War-era March family: the power of familial love and the dynamism of the March sisters' intelligence and humor.
"With tight, well-timed scenes, McMath's retelling of the young women's struggle with the complexities of love and war keeps the audience alert and involved, letting Alcott's wit permeate the production."
- McMath Brings Alcott Story to Life", Ann Keisman, Loudoun Times Mirror, 2004
ARMS & THE HIGHLANDER
Adapted from George Bernard Shaw's ARMS AND THE MAN by Meredith Bean McMath
McMath Producer / Director / Costumer
Adapted from George Bernard Shaw's ARMS AND THE MAN by Meredith Bean McMath
McMath Producer / Director / Costumer
Brie Reed as Elizabeth Littlebone and Christopher Saunders as Captain Gabriel Hay
"McMath’s adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s play “Arms and the Man” is full of exchanges that make a guy nostalgic for a language alive with wit and humor, with deliberation and suggestion, a language rich enough to express the complicated truth about each of us and thereby make it possible for us to know ourselves.”
- Mark Dewey, The Blue Ridge Leader, 2006
Ben Huntington as Henry James Clodfelter, Brie Reed as Elizabeth Littlebone and Penny Hauffe as Catherine Littlebone (Photo by Jim Poston)
"In a pivotal scene in the second half of Case 22, a judge tasked with assessing a case of alleged child abuse engages in careful deliberation, reaches a verdict, assembles the courtroom, raises his gavel and – sorry, scratch that....."
"Actually, after exhibiting zero signs of deliberative exertion, the judge raises a hammer and proceeds to wield it with the veritable absence of subtlety that its actual function implies. It’s a wickedly clever flourish that speaks to the pitch-black comedic sensibility of Case 22, a play that seamlessly operates on multiple levels of meaning and structure even as its central theme, the decidedly unfunny subject of child abuse, remains undiminished by the attendant shenanigans.
"Actually, after exhibiting zero signs of deliberative exertion, the judge raises a hammer and proceeds to wield it with the veritable absence of subtlety that its actual function implies. It’s a wickedly clever flourish that speaks to the pitch-black comedic sensibility of Case 22, a play that seamlessly operates on multiple levels of meaning and structure even as its central theme, the decidedly unfunny subject of child abuse, remains undiminished by the attendant shenanigans.
"Are they performing, or is it the real thing? CASE 22 delights in the disarray of its dual plot lines, which serve to emphasize the concurrence of the actors' predicament with the travails of their script's protagonist...
"In this context CASE 22, which packs a wallop of an ending, adroitly portrays the grim theatricality of a government agency that, despite its grave responsibilities, persists in the apparent absence of a director."
- Tzvi Kahn, DC THEATRE SCENE
READ THE FULL REVIEW
"In this context CASE 22, which packs a wallop of an ending, adroitly portrays the grim theatricality of a government agency that, despite its grave responsibilities, persists in the apparent absence of a director."
- Tzvi Kahn, DC THEATRE SCENE
READ THE FULL REVIEW
August 2018
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
McMath - Director / Producer / Costumes / Media
"A noted historian and author, McMath launched Run Rabbit Run in 1999 and has collaborated with some of Loudoun’s best-known names in community theater."
- Jan Merker, Loudoun Times Mirror, August 2018
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
McMath - Director / Producer / Costumes / Media
"A noted historian and author, McMath launched Run Rabbit Run in 1999 and has collaborated with some of Loudoun’s best-known names in community theater."
- Jan Merker, Loudoun Times Mirror, August 2018
L to R: Katy Shinas, Rosemary Thoburn, Vanessa Borg, Julian Baldwin, Rachel Louis as the swooning Beatrice, Bobbie Regan & Victoria Sova as Hero (Photo by Craig Thoburn).
“Rachel Louis (who plays Beatrice) said, 'One of the things Meredith has really encouraged is to play with the audience and make them another character in the show'." - Jan Merker, Loudoun Times Mirror, August 2018
Victoria Sova as Hero, David Pesta as Don Pedro and Brandon Cheltenham as Victor Allen (Photo by Craig Thoburn)
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The reconciliation of Benedick and Beatrice (Ryan Bultrowicz and Rachel Louis) (Photo by Craig Thoburn).
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READ THE WHOLE REVIEW
July 2013
THE TAMING OF THE SHREW
McMath - Director / Producer / Set and Costume Design / Media
"Mad Men" Meets Shakespeare
- Joe Motheral, Loudoun Times Mirror, July 2013
"Mad Men" Meets Shakespeare
- Joe Motheral, Loudoun Times Mirror, July 2013
L to R: Danielle Guy, Sarah Midolo, Caroline Pennington, Molly Warndorf, Annie Stokes as Kate and Amy Blair as Bianca (Photo by Jim Poston).
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Annie Stokes as Kate and Matthew Curtis as Petruchio (Photo by Jim Poston)
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May 2013
THE 39 STEPS
McMath - Director / Producer / Costume Design / Media
"A Whirlwind comes to Purcellville", Mark Dewey, DC Metro Theater Arts, May 2013
THE 39 STEPS
McMath - Director / Producer / Costume Design / Media
"A Whirlwind comes to Purcellville", Mark Dewey, DC Metro Theater Arts, May 2013
Phil Erickson as Richard Hannah and Penny Hauffe as Annabella, the Spy (Photo by Jim Poston).
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Speakers for the Union! Tom Johnson and Kevin Daly (Photo by Jim Poston)
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"...four actors run through 33 scenes playing 139 roles in about 100 minutes. Actually, the actor Phil Erickson plays only the role of Richard Hannay, and Penny Hauffe plays only the three women who become pseudo-romantically involved with him, so that leaves something like 135 roles for Kevin Daly and Tom Johnson, who are identified in the program only as Clown one and Clown two.
"Those two men are sometimes called upon to switch identities — and accents, and genders — from one line to the next by switching hats or walking in a circle around another character or putting their heads through an imaginary window, all of which happens repeatedly, right before our eyes, at speeds that smack of the aerobic exercises hired trainers make us do."
- Mark Dewey, DC Metro Theater Arts, 2013
"Those two men are sometimes called upon to switch identities — and accents, and genders — from one line to the next by switching hats or walking in a circle around another character or putting their heads through an imaginary window, all of which happens repeatedly, right before our eyes, at speeds that smack of the aerobic exercises hired trainers make us do."
- Mark Dewey, DC Metro Theater Arts, 2013
L to R: Kaitlyn DeLitta a flock, Tom Johnson and Kevin Daly as spies, Penny Hauffe as Margaret and Phil Erickson as Richard Hannay (Photo by Jim Poston)
July 2012
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM
McMath - Director / Producer / Costume Design / Media
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM
McMath - Director / Producer / Costume Design / Media
"If action occurs in more than one place, where should the audience sit? How will they know where to look? Does everyone need to hear every line and see every gesture?
How can the actors’ voices compete with the night’s voice? And how can 80 people see what’s happening in a space below their seating level, rather than above it?...
All of those questions together form a larger question, which is why?
Because the pay-off potential is huge."
"... And you thank unreasonable Meredith McMath."
How can the actors’ voices compete with the night’s voice? And how can 80 people see what’s happening in a space below their seating level, rather than above it?...
All of those questions together form a larger question, which is why?
Because the pay-off potential is huge."
"... And you thank unreasonable Meredith McMath."
Puck (Garrett Milich) eats grapes as he merrily watches Demetrius (Lee Bean) and Lysander (Ethan Dean) fight over the jealousies he has conjured within them (Photo by Jim Poston).
April 2012
THE MERRY WIDOW
Produced by Loudoun Lyric Opera
McMath - Director / Set Design / Costume Design / Media
“[The Merry Widow] has it all—scandal, intrigue and even a gaggle of Can-Can dancers—Les Grisettes of the famed nightclub Maxim’s. Passionate and playful music, striking costumes and more vocal talent than you can shake a fishnet-clad leg at make LLO’s The Merry Widow an event not to be missed." - Samantha Bartram, Leesburg Today, 4.13.12
Produced by Loudoun Lyric Opera: "The Merry Widow at Franklin Park,"
Dave Levinson, LoudounArts.com, April 2012
- PREVIEW VIDEO of the song, "The Girls at Maxim's" -
Can-Can Girls L to R: Katy Hannah, Delia Zielinski, Archelle Skuce, Molly Pinson-Simoneau, Kristen Donovan, Ashley Herr and Sue Derrow (Photo by Jim Poston)
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Melissa Chavez as Hanna Glawari and Gregory Stuart as Count Danilo (Photo by Jim Poston)
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L to R: Chanel Wood as Nizche, Peter Seckinger as Gen. Kromov, Tim Griffin as Viscounte Cascada, Melissa Jean Chavez. as Hanna Glawari, Patrick Phillip Becker as St. Brioche, Sue Derrow as Frou-Frou, Andrei Naumov as the Count, and (seated) Ashley Herr and Archelle Skuce (Photo by Jim Poston)
February 2012
Amy Blair as Mrs. Trotsky and Ben Huntington as Ramon Mercader)
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"Goombye Tongue Stoppard!" Grifter Don (Christopher Saunders​) teaches 'Unumunda' to Dawn (Emy Hyland) in "The Universal Language")
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December 2011
PYGMALION
Dinner Theater Production at Grandale Farm Restaurant, Neersville, Virginia
McMath - Director / Producer / Set and Costume Design / Media
Penny Hauffe as Eliza, Craig Synder as Colonel Pickering and Phil Erickson as Professor Higgins (Photo by Jim Poston)
HONORS
DC METRO THEATRE ARTS "BEST OF.." LIST
PRESS REVIEW
"Penny Hauffe, Craig Snyder, and Phil Erickson shine as Eliza Doolittle, Colonel Pickering, and Henry Higgins" "... Nine people who are so good at pretending to be other people that you wonder whose voices they hear when they talk to themselves." - Mark Dewey, Shenandoah Press
DC METRO THEATRE ARTS "BEST OF.." LIST
- PYGMALION as Best Play
- Best Performance by an Actress: Penny Hauffe as Eliza Doolittle
- Best Performance by an Actor: Phil Erickson, as Henry Higgins
PRESS REVIEW
"Penny Hauffe, Craig Snyder, and Phil Erickson shine as Eliza Doolittle, Colonel Pickering, and Henry Higgins" "... Nine people who are so good at pretending to be other people that you wonder whose voices they hear when they talk to themselves." - Mark Dewey, Shenandoah Press
PATRON REVIEW
"Pygmalion was full 'of chocolates... and taxis, and gold, and diamonds!... The cast presented a feast of Shavian wit and a social statement that is applicable nearly a century after its premier. Bloody good show, Run, Rabbit, Run!" - Matthew Gallelli
L to R: Amy Blair as Clara Eynsford-Hill, Sue Derrow as Mrs. Eynsford-Hill, Penny Hauffe as Eliza Doolittle, Garrett Milich as Freddy Eynsford-Hill, Karlah Louis as Mrs. Higgins and Craig Snyder as Col. Pickering
May 2011
IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
McMath - Director / Producer / Set and Costume Design
Christopher Saunders (at left) as Algernon Moncrieff and Garrett Milich as John "Jack" Worthing, J.P. (Photo by Jim Poston)
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"Dinner Theater Serves Up Comedy... Locally grown gourmet food and locally grown gourmet actors..." Loudoun Magazine, spring 2013 
Diane El-Shafey as Lady Moncrieff (Photo by Tom Johnson)
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L to R: Maddie Vencil as Gwendolyn, Diane El-Shafey as Lady Moncrieff, Phil Erickson as Rev. Chasuble, Suzy Alden as Cecily, Penny Hauffe as Miss Prism and Christopher Saunders as John "Jack" Worthing, (Photo by Tom Johnson)
CRITIC'S CHOICE
Run Rabbit Run Dinner Theatre's The Importance of Being Earnest
BEST ACTING: FULL CAST
"Run Rabbit Run Theatre's production of Oscar Wilde's period comedy... has achieved a level of excellence not often seen on the dinner theatre circuit...
"From casting to staging to wardrobe, the show exudes meticulous attention to detail that results in an evening of marvelous entertainment.
"This production showcases the crew's extensive work in the historical genre, particularly the direction of Meredith Bean McMath."
- Beverly Ford, ALL ARTS REVIEW, 2011