We had quite a few awesome, and honest reviews of SMASHED at the FringeNYC 2014 Festival! The New York Times attended the last performance, and we were absolutely thrilled their coverage made it to print. Plus some fun pre-show press.

REVIEWS

“Confession: When I’ve had a truly extraordinary theatrical experience, an unmistakable part of my reaction is physical. So there I was on Friday night… a probably ridiculous smile plastered on my face. I’d just seen “SMASHED: The Carrie Nation Story” — an opera with belly laughs, about that temperance radical. That peculiar little show, from the local company Opera on Tap, had made me joyous. It was the highlight of several recent days spent sampling from the unwieldy buffet that is the New York International Fringe Festival.”
— Laura Collins-Hughes, The New York Times

“How many operas encourage you to get a beer on your way to your seat and open with the lyrics “I’m so fucking wasted?”
“This party of a show… A delicious brew of top-shelf singers mixed with downtown creativity.”
“One striking exception is a poignant aria in which Carrie laments her former husband’s addiction to alcohol. Here, the music shifts to a simple plaintiveness, and Wozniak’s soulful interpretation allowed me a deeper view into Carrie’s humanity.”
— Jason Jacobs, NYTheaterNow.com

Although SMASHED is billed as slapstick and hilarious, it’s the dramatic scenes which are the most compelling. In a fully realized aria, Carrie Nation (Krista Wozniak) reveals how she fell in love and married a young doctor who died of alcoholism. This expansive aria gives us a deeper understanding of Carrie’s radicalism.
— Navida Stein, Stagebuddy.com

“A heck of a lot of fun… silly shenanigans sung with operatic gusto.”
— Eva Heinemann, Hi! Drama

“Creators James Barry and Timothy Braun are clearly onto something.”
“Accurate vignettes from Nation’s unusual story with playful gags and elements of audience participation.”
“Mixing of the high culture of opera with the low culture of the barroom.”
— Jacob Horn, CurtainUp.com

“Never gets boring… [a] merry-go-round of ideas.”
“The production has an energetic, three-ring-circus quality.”
“The songs are affecting and lucid, as when Carrie recalls her first marriage to an alcoholic husband.”
— Ethan Kanfer, NY Theater blog

“This is definitely a show worth seeing.”
“A cross-genre mix of theatre, cabaret, opera, and interactive game.”
“The music is brilliant.”
— William Glenn, FringeReview.co.uk

PRE-SHOW PRESS

SMASHED was selection Mostly A’s, for this Quizfeed by New York Theater Review.

1) You are a theatrical piece of work. Your friends call you a(n):
– a) Opera of the Ridiculous
2) You can go on for:
– a) About an hour when you are drinking.
3) Your favorite prop is:
– a) A giant inflatable beer bottle.
4) Your story’s through line can be summed up as:
– a) “Of all my favorite things to do, the utmost is to have a brew”.
5) After spending time with you, your friends want to:
– a) Drink.