reviews
Robert Hurwitt, The San Francisco Chronicle: "In Dooley's staging, it's an engaging romp filled with slapstick, Valera Coble's outrageous costumes, shards of Shakespeare and music director Dave Malloy's raggedly set, comically reworded (by Costello and Garrett) songs"
Chad Jones' Theatre Dogs: "Director Patrick Dooley only barely contains the manic energy of his cast, which is as it should be…"
Sam Hurwitt, The East Bay Express: "The insistent energy of the show is infectious, and it's hard not to get swept up in it. Why fight it? If you don't vote for Ubu, he's just going to cheat and win anyway."
Karen D'Souza, San Jose Mercury News: "Paris Hilton for President? Puh-lease! Cast your ballot for Shotgun Players instead. Berkeley’s scrappiest theater company is out to rock the vote and tickle the funny bone with Ubu for President."
Ken Bullock, Berkeley Daily Planet: "Josh Costello (who has directed for the Magic in San Francisco, as well as the Crucible in Oakland, and was Impact’s first artistic director in Berkeley) has written a broad burlesque of contemporary popular culture."
articles
Cool As Hell podcast: "Ubu For President, written by Shotgun Players, takes Ubu Roi, written by Alfred Jarry, and transports it into a modern day context, complete with whole lot of mayhem, that even you the audience will want to take part of… Even if you feel you are ‘above’ the antics of the less than everyday man. Go out and have some fun!"
Pat Craig, Inside Bay Area: "What Costello is striving to keep intact is the knack Jarry showed at making the worst parts of human nature laughable — a great tool in helping overcome evil."
Andrea Abney, San Francisco Chronicle: "Ubu Roi's main character is an unlikable, grotesque monster. But he can be charming, too."
Flavorpill: "Ubu has frequently been recast by modern writers to send up their own particular political climates, and the Shotgun Players have done their part with this rollicking, obscenity-filled kiss-off..."