LOVE IN BLOOM: 100% Sweet

(L-R): “Double Disguise” Serena Dolinsky, Liz Eldridge and Melissa Gentry in the world premiere musical comedy “Love in Bloom.”

SWEET
It was as if we were watching Shakespeare set to music with its Faerie King Orion (Chris DeCarlo) and Faerie Queen Talia (Evelyn Rudie) at the helm of Love in Bloom at the Santa Monica Playhouse. Written by these two brilliant and talented Co-Executive Directors of the Playhouse, they have, once again, created a production that brings magic to their theater.
Carol Kaufmann Segal – Stagehappenings

SWEET
Standout moments include the hilarious number, “She Likes You,” in which Constance and Cortina (Serena Dolinsky and Melissa Gentry), disguised as male commoners, teach Prince Hamelot (Tyner Pesch) how to discern whether a girl likes him or not. Indeed whenever the three were together, the action flowed with great charm. Equally clever was the way the ensemble created the landscape of the play through their form, flitting their fingers to portray a campfire and crashing on the ground in a wrecked ship. The intricate choreography inspired admiration, and was articulated with agility and comedic panache. Where the occasional song or phrasing fell flat, the next song would redeem it, sending chills up my spine and a smile to my face. And Zach Medway’s miming Frivolio kept me laughing throughout.
K. Primeau – LA Theatre Review

SWEET
Just as “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” Love in Bloom is a production in which each exquisite cast member blossoms and nourishes the soul. Live, love, laugh at this true labour of love, sheer delight, played out from beginning to end.
Bonnie Priever – Tolucan Times

SWEET
“Love in Bloom,” as an original work, is good. As homage to Shakespeare, master of pantomime Marcel Marceau, Commedia dell’arte and conventions of classical theater in general, it soars. And by the time the lights fade to black, you will not be able to fight the feeling that all you need is love.
Daniel Boden – DailyBruin

SWEET
If you can imagine what one of Shakespeare’s romantic comedies would be like if it were set to music and lyrics, you’d have a good idea of the delightful whimsy concocted here by Chris DeCarlo and Evelyn Rudie. It’s a bold, ambitious piece of musical theater with touches of commedia dell’arte and Gilbert and Sullivan plus lots of unexpected turns and plot twists, all of which make the viewing more fun.
Lovell Estelle III – LA Weekly

SWEET
It certainly deserves as long a run as it can handle.
Lynne Bronstein – Reviewplays

SWEET
It starts with a shipwreck and ends with a wedding. Sounds like Shakespeare, looks like Shakespeare, but it’s not exactly Shakespeare. It’s “Love in Bloom,” a new musical by Chris DeCarlo and Evelyn Rudie that contains a handful of Shakespearean plot-lines, extracted snatches of the Bard’s text and characters with slightly altered Shakespearean names. Complete with gods and goddesses of the wood, sisters disguised as men, lovers torn asunder, and plenty of magical mischief, the play is an upbeat romp that mostly pleases, but leaves you, at times, yearning for the original texts on which it’s based.
Amy Lyons – Santa Monica Mirror