Press
Opening Night Reviews - February 10, 2024
TVBRITTANYF.COM - February 2, 2024
Beyond the Curtain - January 23, 2024
Known for their thrilling and accessible adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, Frog & Peach Theatre Company is set to captivate audiences once again with their rendition of the Bard's startlingly relevant tragedy King Lear.
The Good Men Project - January 9, 2024
Known for their thrilling and accessible adaptations of Shakespeare's plays, Frog & Peach Theatre Company is set to captivate audiences once again with their rendition of this startlingly relevant tragedy.
FU I'm From Jersey - January 3, 2024
The Unforgettable Line - May 22, 2023
When I heard there was a theater troupe called the Frog & Peach, I simply had to see what they were up to. Though they were founded in large part to make Shakespeare more accessible to a broad audience, their most recent production, College Fun, is a 35 minute long sharp-edged satire written by founding company member Ted Zurkowski. With its setting at an elite university in Southern California and its relentless puncturing of a certain brand of authority figure, it reflects many of the qualities of Beyond the Fringe, the innovators of the routine about the world's most revolting restaurant.
BFTV / Brittany Frederick - May 12, 2023
"The play's about winning... It's about beating the system. It's about proving that you're better than the people who you're going against... Especially coming from my character's point of view. I'm going to win, I'm going to beat you. You're not going to have power over me."
Times Square Chronicles - May 4, 2023
A one-night-only premiere of College Fun. This new comedy is written by Ted Zurkowski and directed by Lynnea Benson of The Frog and Peach Theatre Company. The Frog & Peach Theatre Company will host the performance on Friday, May 12 at 8 PM at the Marjorie S Deane Little Theatre. T2c interviewed Lynnea Benson and Ted Zurkowski to learn more.
The Roundtable Talk - May 2, 2023
The Frog & Peach Theatre Company announced that New York's critically acclaimed & revolutionary ensemble will stage a one-night-only premiere of "College Fun," a startling new comedy by Ted Zurkowski. Directed by Lynnea Benson, the "College Fun" performance will take place on Friday, May 12 at 8 PM at the Marjorie S Deane Little Theatre. The cast includes popular performers from Frog & Peach's recent smash hit, AS YOU LIKE IT.
Times Square Chronicles - September 21, 2022
Join Rosalind & Celia as they flee into the Forest of Arden for romance, music, & adventures in cross-dressing in Shakespeare's startlingly modern comedy, AS YOU LIKE IT. Meet the lovesick Orlando, femme fatale Phebe, the wickedly funny Touchstone, the dreamy Jaques, & the glamorous court in exile led by Queen Senior. Murder attempts, lion attacks, not even visits from the gods can stop the glorious fun of As You Like It!
BroadwayWorld - September 15, 2022
Frog & Peach Theatre Company has announced that New York's revolutionary Shakespeare ensemble will return to the live stage with their long-anticipated comedy blockbuster, AS YOU LIKE IT. Directed by Lynnea Benson, the production will feature music by Ted Zurkowski, Lyrics by WS, and begins previews on September 30th at Theatre 71, 152 West 71st St. The official opening will be on Thursday, October 6.
TheaterScene.com - February 22, 2019
TheaterMania - January 16, 2019
OnStage Blog - February 12, 2018
TheaterMania - October 1, 2015
Manhattan with a Twist - October 27, 2014
Titus Andronicus is a story of betrayal, revenge, and just pure evil. It has been described as one of Shakespeare's more modern shows, most likely because those feelings are pretty timeless. Watching the talented players perform this show at the West End Theater was definitely a highlight of my weekend. The directing was well-done, the acting almost flawless, and the whole experience was exactly what I look for when I go out to see a play. My hat is off to the Frog & Peach theater company, as well as the entire cast of Titus Andronicus.
BroadwayWorld - October 23, 2014
New York Theatre Review - October 20, 2014
With Halloween right around the corner, the timing couldn't be more right to see Shakespeare's goriest play, and Frog and Peach Theatre Company have staged a classic production of it on Manhattan's Upper West Side. They have remained very true to Shakespeare's original script, even with its inherent complications. With the current violence raging across the globe, there might not be a better time to revisit the bloody Rome of Titus Andronicus.
Theater Pizzazz - October 19, 2014
Titus Andronicus, oddly, is well-suited for a small community Shakespeare group such as the always adventurous and daring Frog and Peach Theatre Company who are presenting this comedy of terrors under the direction of the dynamic Lynnea Benson, until November 2. In mounting Titus, Frog and Peach are presenting their second obscure Shakespeare play in a row-the last being the elusive King John-for which they must be commended. Producing these nuggets is a win for everyone: actors who would never otherwise have the opportunity to play the roles; and, both casual and serious Shakespeare fans who, even in New York, rarely have a chance to see these plays.
Theater Pizzazz - May 17, 2014
Director Lynnea Benson has, once again, taken a potentially difficult and heavy play and made it accessible and, ultimately, very entertaining. And doing so with such a short run only adds to the impressiveness of the accomplishment. In her hands, the play takes on a vaudevillian nature: there are heroes and villains that we feel ready to boo or cheer out loud. Her well-chosen and enthusiastic cast make King John a rare treat, rather than merely a rare encounter.
Adventures in the Endless Pursuit of Entertainment - April 27, 2014
The Frog & Peach Theatre Company tags itself as "Shakespeare Revisited." Indeed with rock music setting the mood before curtain and during the intermission, simple sets and a cleverly designed mesh of modern and period dress (Nina Vartanian for costumes), this production, as well as all of the Bard's works I've seen this company do, has a very satisfying, kick-ass modern feel. I go in expecting to be treated to really hearing and being in the text and I'm never disappointed.
CurtainUp - April 27, 2014
Benson's gutsy approach couldn't be more right for this action-packed history play. She jumpstarts her production by leaning into those fighting words "borrowed majesty" that are spoken at the outset to King John by Chatillon of France. The subsequent bickering, skirmishes, and battles between the English and French brings each to its breaking point. Benson sees in this play what other directors all too often miss: That one must fully tap into the energy of the political tug-of-war or lose the deeper (and disturbing) truth of the play: everybody is living in an unreliable political world here that is constantly shifting ground.
Adventures in the Endless Pursuit of Entertainment - November 3, 2013
Last night I walked 10 minutes from my apartment to Denmark and I never left the Upper West Side. The Frog and Peach Theatre Company has mounted another terrific Shakespeare production: this time it's Hamlet, The Prince of Denmark.
Theater Pizzazz - October 24, 2013
The Frog & Peach Theatre Company is presenting a straightforward production of the much-staged-over-staged?-Shakespearean tragedy with no frills, no new age re-interpretations, no oddball re-locations and, most important, no wholesale re-configurations of Shakespeare's brilliant language (except for a few pronoun changes to accommodate a female Rosencrantz and Guildenstern).
Short and Sweet NYC - May 14, 2013
Once again I trekked over to The West End Theatre on 86th street for another stellar and unique production from The Frog and Peach Theatre Company; this time it was Measure For Measure, a sexy tale of lawful attempts of repression of you-know-what.
Adventures in the Endless Pursuit of Entertainment - May 8, 2013
The Frog & Peach Theatre Company has launched its spring Shakespeare at the West End Theatre on the Upper West Side. This season, it's a great production of Measure for Measure.
Adventures in the Endless Pursuit of Entertainment - November 1, 2012
The Frog and Peach Theatre Company has done it again: another terrific, wonderful accessible production of Shakespeare. This time it's The Taming of the Shrew.
CurtainUp - October 20, 2012
The Frog and Peach Theatre Company has just blown in to the West End Theater with a gutsy new production of The Taming of the Shrew. Although the drunken tinker Christopher Sly and the topsy-turvy Induction are nowhere in sight and Shakespeare's imaginary Padua has been transferred to a Felliniesque landscape of the early 1960s, the main piece remains intact: a raucous battle of the sexes in which a woman wins by swallowing her pride and surrendering to the man she loves.