THE ROSENBERGS
“It’s an interesting challenge to keep the story moving when it’s very much about the past,” Troyanovsky says. “It does not have a traditional opera plot. The story is told through memory, and in a certain way, guilt or innocence doesn’t matter. Don’t expect truths, don’t expect facts." — The ARTery, by Keith Powers, April 10th 2018
"Opera comes in many sizes. On one end, there are the grand-stage, orchestra-in-the-pit, audience-in-Sunday-best operas. On the other, a few singers in a room, with a piano." "In between there’s chamber opera - a modest amount of instruments, a small cast of singers, simple sets. This version can be the most accessible, and the most rewarding. “The Rosenbergs (An Opera),” onstage now at the Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, proves it…Troyanovsky’s blocking […] played a large part in the visual success." — Wicked Local, by Keith Powers, 2018
"The production at the Boston Playwrights Theatre was tight and powerful. It’s a limited space for an opera and musical trio, both in full voice, but what put us on the edge of our seats was not mainly the space, but more the tension and lyric power." — Artscope, by James Foritano, 2018
"Full credit to the artistic team behind the current North American premiere of The Rosenbergs at the Boston Playwrights Theatre for thoroughly grasping the creators’ intent. They understand the emotional pitch and scope of the opera and successfully illuminate the difficult issues at play. In other words, this production gets it right." "Populated by just two actors and three musicians, The Rosenbergs is small in scope but large in ambition; it is an accomplished and moving work that demands attention." — The Arts Fuse, By Steve Provizer, April 15, 2018
"Something thrilling can transpire when a primarily theatrical director/producer finds a connection to an opera,"one of the most visually moving tableaux I’ve seen in quite some time." — The Boston Musical Intelligencer, by Joshua Collier, April 17th, 2018
EXIT THE KING
"ASP guest director Dmitry Troyanovsky captures the dark humor and the accelerating tensions affecting the tyrannical ruler and his entourage in Ionesco's strong absurdist conception." "Still ASP's properly surreal "Exit the King" makes intimations of mortality curiously alluring." — Bay Windows, "Ornate, surreal “King”" by Jules Becker, September 28, 2017
"Director Dmitry Troyanovsky has created a sleek and shiny production underlining the superficial trappings of power so obviously precious to the King." — EDGE Media Network, by Clinton Campbell, September 28, 2017
"Director Dmitry Troyanovsky is playfully grotesque, as one should be, when dealing with Ionesco’s impish ridiculousness, and he nicely highlights the demented decadence of Berenger’s court: the trappings in the throne room are shiny and pristine, but they are strangely incongruous, a garish mix-match. This is a society that no longer makes sense, even to itself." "Given the despicable madness of our current political culture — and the alarming momentum of Climate Change — Ionesco’s grotesque vision of the world winding down in circus fashion has never been more relevant, and this production does him justice." — The Arts Fuse, by Ian Thal, September 2017
"Troyanovsky's production is divinely scrumptious, creating a hazy atmosphere that hovers somewhere between drunken decadence and groggy hangover. With its implicit warnings of the dangers of political excess, Exit the King hits close to home." — Theatermania, by Christopher Ehlers, September 22, 2017
"In the Actor’s Shakespeare Project production, director Dmitry Troyanovsky constructs a world that also lives and dies in multiple contradictory planes: the infantile and the decrepit; the dance and the dirge; the powerful and the impotent. Much of that world rests on the pages of Ionesco’s classic absurdist work but Troyanovsky has found new colors in the work and gilded it with gold, being careful not to directly point to the current U.S. gilder-in-chief, while also being careful not to point away as well." — The Theatre Times, by James Montaño, September 2017
"Director Dmitry Troyanovsky has staged the play as a farce, on a setting strewn with the wreckage of last night’s party" "there is no question that “Exit The King” comes uncomfortably close to contemporary concerns during these uncertain times." — WickedLocal, By Iris Fanger for The Patriot Ledger, September 2017
CHARLOTTE'S WEB
"In my experiences as a spectator and, now, a maker of children's theater, imagination seems to be key. The productions I saw growing up communicated metaphorically and gave me a glimpse beyond realism and literalness. While it may be tempting to sugarcoat family theater with kitschy bromides and aggressively cheerful stagecraft, young people will find intellectual and aesthetic complexity far more rewarding as they mature. We can tell stories that do not shy away from the challenges of life and upend the limitations of form, genre, and style."
— Experience The Art, Dmitry Troyanovsky, excerpt from "Growing Up in the Theater", December 15, 2017
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4:48 PSYCHOSIS
"This new production staged by director Dmitry Troyanovsky at the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center (now in their 20th year) raises the stakes exceptionally high....Troyanovsky’s interpretation of the play makes us believe that we’re viewing the drama not in real time, but as a series of flashbacks in this woman’s mind in her patience to reach 4:48am, the time when Kane woke up every night in her depressive state...An excellent show that I’d highly recommend to anyone interested in contemporary or experimental theater." — Smart Shanghai, August Cohlmia, July 2015
"The music and movement that surprises most of all. Staged as a four-person play, the show incorporates live accordion and double bass music from two musicians who, at points, see themselves interrupted by the on-stage mania as characters grapple and fling themselves across the set. At one point, an actor seizes the double bass altogether, continuing the jazzy melody in the face of screamed abuse from the other characters. Here, the careful music selections serve to amplify each movement, or quiet instance of despair, from an off-key birthday song to the blaring bars of Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy...Moments of astounding physicality (actress Huang Fangling is centre-stage at one point, simulating sex, audible groans and all)...Actress Xu Manman delivers a performance that blurs the line of sanity, but one that nonetheless is muted, grounded, and perhaps, for that, more realistic than ever. And while the roles of lover, doctor, friend, and family are unclear in this messy rendition of a mind's landscape, the tenderness between the two actresses in the quartet allows a moment or two’s respite. Don't come to 4:48 Psychosis looking for happy endings, satisfaction or clarity – instead just helplessly observe something that thoroughly, and alarmingly, earns the literary pigeon-hole ‘psycho-drama’."
— TimeOut Shanghai, Isabelle Lim, July 2015
"Stepping into the auditorium at Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre (SDAC) for Sarah Kane's play 4:48 Psychosis, one is immediately plunged into a frightful paleness caused by fluorescent lights on two walls next to the audience. The raw, exposed effect suits Kane's work well...The leading female character, the "I" in the script, is played by Xu Manman. The other three actors play various roles. Zhou Tingchao plays a doctor for most of the time; Huang Fangling mainly plays "I" in the spiritual world; while Wang Wei sometimes plays a spiritual "I" and sometimes becomes a doctor. Visually, it gives a clear understanding of the intertextual dialogue in the original script, which can be read as the monologue of a person who constantly interrogates herself and recalls her experience of rehabilitation." — Global Times, Sun Shuangjie, July 2015
"Judging from the final product onstage and the post-show talk, the director demonstrates a clear line of thought and unique ideas. What stands out most in this recent SDAC production is how it makes abstract emotions concrete and convincingly realizes the director’s personal interpretations while closely adhering to the structure of the original script...a visual moment that evokes van Gogh’s earless self-portrait makes one immediately realize what In-Yer-Face Theater and Post-Impressionism have in common: the same frankness in expressing one’s views of the world and their confrontation with the deepest pain." -- Pengpai News, July 2015
"One could say that the uniqueness of 4.48 Psychosis as a text grants productions endless possibilities, and Russian-American director Dmitry Troyanovsky doesn’t let the audience down. He provides an inventive reading of the play, stating that although it could be read as a semi-autobiographical suicide note and the medical record of her mental breakdown, he personally understood Kane’s plays as depicting a world in crisis. Based on this interpretation, Troyanovsky seeks to put Kane the person behind the scenes, opting instead to transform the emotional and abstract language of the play into everyday concreteness and bring personal experience back into the world and our diverse relationships in it."
-- Shanghai Drama, Wei Ersi, 2015, Issue 9
"In this production, florescent lights line the walls of the theater, creating an atmosphere of strangeness and discomfort. The scenes within the play are staged as if the stage space were a small box bigger one—the surrounding theatre space becomes a bigger box, giving one a sense of suffocating claustrophobia. Everything on stage seemed familiar yet strange, as if one were in some odd dream." — Literary Review, Jin Ying, July 2015
EVGENY ONEGIN
"Opera Idaho's "Evgeny Onegin" raises the bar for the company's productions, with acting depth, clever sets and glorious singing...Opera Idaho assembled a dynamic team of artists who created an immensely satisfying performance...Dmitry Troyanovsky's direction breathes the emotional life into the production by creating touching moments that drive the story forward. And even though the story is set in 1820s Russia, it moves with a contemporary ease...The orchestra under Grammy nominated-conductor Sara Jobin played the score exquisitely. Jobin and Troyanovsky balanced the theatrical and vocal aspects of opera perfectly." — Idaho Statesman, Dana Oland, February 2015
THE KING STAG
"One of the most impressive productions to be seen currently in Shanghai. The minute the curtain opens, we are drawn into the world of color, clowning, and acrobatic physicality." — The Bund Magazine, July 2013
"The director and designer have created an intricate amusement park for performers with Constructivist devices that combine elements of the circus and the Baroque... For instance, a huge red seesaw allows the actors to run, jump, walk, slide and flip freely... The director suggests that actors get immersed in their performances as kids in a game — a game with high stakes, a sense of danger, and amazing physicality... These unique elements synthesized into a whole highlight themes of love, ambition, generosity, and true beauty in ways that communicate to contemporary Chinese spectators."
— Shanghai Drama Magazine, September 2013
ROMEO AND JULIET
"Condensed and exciting...Smartly adapted...The performances are energetic, fast paced and should be clear, even in Shakespearean dialogue, to the uninitiated... It has an impact that transcends history."
— Sarasota Herald Tribune, Jay Handleman, October 2013
"The adaptation...manages to maintain the integrity and depth of Shakespeare's masterpiece in a stripped down and highly accessible version. Troyanovsky...infuses modern attire and body language that affords a familiarity to the work..."
— Bradenton Times, Dennis Maley, October 2013
MACBETH
"Red gloves and wooden chairs take on new lives and possess immense power in the Asolo Repertory Theatre's New Stages production of Macbeth... Compressed but impressive adaptation...An intense experience that is so gripping you can forget that you're watching a play." — Sarasota Herald Tribune, Jay Handelman, October 2012
HAMLET REDUX
"Director Dmitry Troyanovsky and Stephanie Fleischmann whittled the nearly four hour play to a crucial, jam-packed but thoughtful 50 minutes... They retain the heart and soul of the story... Troyanovsky is an inventive director who works
magic with his actors." — Sarasota Herald Tribune, Jay Handelman, October 2011
"Director Troyanovsky has come up with simple yet clever ways to stage familiar scenes. The ghost of Hamlet's father, for instance, is represented by spectral crown dangling from a long pole;; a black bowler hat becomes a symbol of the madness that grips young Hamlet." — Sarasota Magazine, Kay Kipling, October 2011
ANTIGONE NOW
"Antigone Now packs a powerful punch...As he has done in past conservatory productions of classic plays, Troyanovsky creates vivid stage images and stirring emotions during the 50-minute performance. There is not a wasted moment...There are still plenty of lessons to be gleaned from Antigone and it’s good to know that our area students will be experiencing a production that makes the past seem so current." — Sarasota Herald Tribune, Jay Handelman, October 2010
MACHINAL
"A director staging this play in 2010 has the choice of serving up a historical artifact or twisting the material around in a new, subversive context. Director Dmitry Troyanovsky took the latter approach. And a gutsy approach it is...The source material sometimes fights with the new spin. In a weird way, that only adds to the nightmare...This is a white hot production. The young actors bled their lives, souls and hearts into this thing. It's a nightmare, yeah. But it's a dream of a play."
— Critic on the Run, March 2010, Marty Fugate
"Gripping new look at classic "Machinal"...The original point of Treadwell’s story may seem a little less relevant now, but as he did several years ago with “The Bacchae,” Troyanovsky has staged a gripping, tension-filled and innovative production that keeps you involved...The story keep you wondering and appreciating Troyanovsky’s stylistic approach."
— Sarasota Herald Tribune, Jay Handelman, March 2010
"A thoughtful, timely [production]...Do you hear the hum of the world, and does it drive you to do unspeakable things? "Machinal" will make you think and wonder at the noise that’s out there as a backdrop to our world. What’s that sound doing to us? Expect to leave the theatre thoughtful about our automatic lives."
— Pelican Press, Paul Roat, March 2010
THE DISCREET CHARM OF MONSIEUR JOURDAIN
"I thoroughly enjoyed this 100 minute show, bursting with youthful talent and energy and reminding me yet again why Moliere is up there with Shakespeare as one of the greats of all time. This production, directed by Dmitry Troyanovsky...is set in swinging Paris of the 1960's and is spiced up with dance routines to French pop music and lots of exuberant physicality... The production features strong performances from the whole company, who seem to be having a pretty good time with it all and has achieved an enviable ensemble feel...The final moments of the play...are very moving. [Jourdain] looks the audience in the eyes as if to remind us of our complicity in witnessing his buffoonery, and then seems to forgive us, as well as himself." — Boston Theatre Reviews, Monica Prendergast, Phd, September 2008
"[Dmitry Troyanovsky] updated Moliere without distorting the master...[he] dusted off the musty classic with ease and grace, truly with a 'discreet charm'...Every actor in the production is given a memorable, unique character trait;; no matter how brief an appearance on stage, the audience won't soon forget it...The style is precise and elegant-- all according to the rules of classical XVII century comedy that this show embodies perfectly today."
— Moskovsky Komsomolets, Vera Kopylova, May 2008
"Moliere described his play as a comic ballet. In [Troyanovsky's] interpretation it is closer to an energetic musical inspired by the melodies of the 1960s...a genuine Broadway style spectacle...with many of the characters playing instruments and breaking into irrepressible dancing." — TV Kultura, May 2008
THE BACCHAE
Critic's Choice Nomination for Best Production and Best Direction of the year: "Despite its ancient Greek roots, this rendering of the classic tale provided the shock of the new in a mind-bending sort of way...Troyanovsky served up a unique, contemporary vision for this classic of the Greek theater, cleverly packaged and conceived."
— Sarasota Magazine, Kay Kipling, June 2007
"Director Dmitry Troyanovsky's take on the play is the work of a true visionary. What he creates on stage is a gusty, fearless work of art...Troyanovsky fearlessly confronts you with that strangeness of the ancient Greek mind. He takes you out of your normal life and plops you down in an alien world of divine terror. He takes you out of your normal self. Which is just what theater should do. At its best." — Sarasota Observer, Marty Fugate, March 8, 2007
"The Bacchae is a visual sensation! Dmitry Troyanovsky does us the service of treating the script as present and alive rather than as some hoary artifact. His production focuses not on the myths of a past society, but on the timeless themes and emotions at the play's heart...This was, without a doubt, one of the most visually arresting plays I've seen...The Bacchae is a work of art." — Bradenton Herald, Eric Delp, March 7, 2007
"The Bacchae makes you think. Imaginative and beautifully stylized...There's nothing ancient about the direction by Dmitry Troyanovsky, who gives the show a contemporary feeling while making the story relevant to our times...[You]
find yourself examining your own thoughts and beliefs." — Sarasota Herald Tribune, Jay Handelman, March 2, 2007
"Stunning! Dmitry Troyanovsky has mounted a haunting production full of primitive potency and mesmerizing imagery...an excellent evening of contemporary theatre." — Pelican Press. Karen Mamone, March 7, 2007
"The Bacchae is a physically beautiful production: Director Dmitry Troyanovsky stages the drama with cold, modernist precision...Troyanovsky's a skillful artist who mixes ancient and modern with real success...I'll remember it for years."
— Creative Loafing, Mark E. Leib, March 7, 2007
"This is not your college classics professor's Bacchae...It works to make us ask questions about the relevance of this particular myth for us today. The director and his talented cast hold our attention throughout the play, sometimes amusing us and sometimes appalling us...Success!" — Sarasota Magazine, Kay Kipling, March 2, 2007
SPRING AWAKENING
"[A] wonderful production of Spring Awakening! It was a pleasure [to see] passion and vision and risk-taking...a work of real seriousness and compassion!" — Una Chaudhuri (New York theatre critic and scholar), December 2, 2003
FOOL FOR LOVE
"Under Dmitry Troyanovsky's direction you get a real feeling of satisfaction from watching the violent and sensual duel...The captivating blues that fills the air is as delicious as a good wine – intoxicating and carrying you away."
— The Russia Journal, Alisa Nikolskaya, March 30, 2000
THE VISIT
"A powerfully expressionistic theatrical experience...Physically this is a magnificent spectacle...Troyanovsky gets slightly exaggerated, solidly individual performances from everyone both individually and as ensemble...Triumphantly theatrical! [An] Effective, forceful production!" — The Theater Mirror, Larry Stark, February, 2003