Profiles
University City Magazine
Boston Globe
Charlotte Observer
Charlotte Magazine

Full Reviews
Urinetown - Creative Loafing
ReQuiem - BACKSTAGE
ReQuiem - nytheatre.com
The Tempest - Charlotte Theatre
Simple Thoughts - BACKSTAGE
Simple Thoughts - CurtainUp.com
The Move - Charlotte Observer
Romeo & Juliet - Valley Advocate

Theater Reviews

ReQuiem for New0rleans
"A sensitive dance-theatre work ... Requiem might constitute an important theatrical portrait of a disgraceful chapter in recent American history. Congratulations to the show's zealous cast."
—BACKSTAGE

"…what makes this show different … is the performer's level of commitment. This show is full of love, sadness, devastation, and anger. This show is one of awareness and action."
—nytheatre.com

"Angelic and earthy singing ... genuinely moving."
—danceinsider.com

"In the wake of Hurricane Katrina ... a Hip Hop production to help victims impacted by its devastation."
—Lincoln Tribune

"A truly lugubrious evening of innovative dance. Although the cornerstone of the concert is imposing requiem music, this benefit has funky, hip-hop ulterior motives - an evening that's downright uplifting."
—Creative Loafing

simple thoughts
"James Vesce's Simple Thoughts breathes fresh air into Langston Hughes' well-known satirical narratives about Jesse B. Semple, a streetwise observer of black life in the 1940s. This hour-long drama is a solid first step in further dramatic exploration of this literary figure, and whets the appetite for more. The bluesy mood of the Harlem bar and Semple's bold pronouncements crystalize the double-sided consciousness of blacks struggling to live in a white world."
—Jeanette Toomer, BACKSTAGE

"Fringe followers this year have a chance to see a fine dramatization of Hughes' popular Everyman character Jesse B. Semple, known by the shorthand name of "Simple." This fine presentation by the Twilight Repertory Company from Charlotte, North Carolina, has been adapted and directed by James Vesce."
—Brad Bradley, CurtainUp.com

"Simple Thoughts is a professionally put-together evening and enjoyable show."
—Dan Asher, nytheatre.com

Urinetown: The Musical
"James Vesce deftly cast and directed a mix of more than 30 performers."
—Perry Tannenbaum, Creative Loafing

On Your Toes
"This production is one of the best designed, most lavishly produced musicals ever by a Charlotte-based company."
—Perry Tannenbaum, Creative Loafing

"This energetic On Your Toes is set in the 1930s vaudeville era. Putting a fresh spin on this classic is director James Vesce."
—Michelle A. Ziner, University City Magazine

"If director James Vesce and his UNCC Company haven't overcome everything that makes On Your Toes such a tough proposition, it's not for a lack of trying ... From the glittering seams down the back of Vera's fishnet stockings to the perfectly synchronized bounce of an all-company flap-ball-change, no effort has been spared, no detail overlooked in making this On Your Toes one for the ages."
—Julie York Coppens, Charlotte Observer

The Move
"The best advice for watching Vincente Leñero's The Move: Surrender, Dorothy. Don't try to make sense of things. Let your senses do that for you ... For now, we benefit from a whiff of literary sophistication."
—JoAnn Grose, Charlotte Observer

The Moon Prince
The City Voices [production] of The Moon Prince is the brainchild of James Vesce. With a grant from the Arts and Science Council the program and show have come to fruition."
—Lori Krimminger, Charlotte Magazine

The Roots of Coincidence
"Indeed the piece is intrusive and hard-hitting ... it is enough to make you stop and think."
—University Times

Romeo & Juliet
"This vision, half primeval, half apocalyptic, belongs to director James Vesce. The masked ball where the young lovers first meet has an explosive tension expressed in an MTV-dance routine. Vesce's Romeo and Juliet reaches for the same modern, edgy feel, the same closed universe ruled by kids ... and the lethal fight between Mercutio and Tybalt is positively acrobatic."
—Chris Rohmann, The Valley Advocate

"Much is different, but much is also the same, in a new adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: [An] accent on action over language ... modern dance, street scene montages, and jazz by Pat Metheny."
—Ronni Gordon, Springfield Union News and Sunday Republican

Tales of the Lost Formicans
"Zany but heartfelt ... "
—Bruce Watson, The Daily Hampshire Gazette

The Purple Flower
"Marita Bonner's surrealistic allegory The Purple Flower was transposed to a contemporary world by director James Vesce and the cast ... who breathed life into the text with a combination of African and modern dance. The danced images of toil, struggle, survival, and passion combined with the humanity in the voices of the Us's drew the audience into the piece."
—Karima Atiya Robinson, Black Theatre Network News

WEST SIDE STORY HIP HOP!
"It was the best show in town. The Sharks and the Jets never looked so funky. And how about a rap version of Officer Krupke? It was great!"
—Joyce Kulhawik, CBS 4 Boston

"The classic tale of love and death have been slickly updated to modern urban America in West Side Story Hip Hop … modern dance moves and style gave the opening night production a feel of energetic authenticity."
—Jason B. Johnson, Boston Herald

brother to brother
"The original musical from James Vesce with lyrics and poetry by Marlon Carey and choreography by Yandje Dibinga ... was outstanding ... The entertaining ensemble work was as carefully thought out as the individual performances, with street scenes especially interesting to watch as the youngsters meet up with one another at a playground to shoot hoops or flirt. The lively dance sequences were a treat too."
—Kay Bourne, The Boston-Bay State Banner

The WIZ
" ... an original contemporary spinoff of the biblical tale of Cain and Abel."
—The Boston Globe

"Khalid Hill as Dorian, Katheryn Santiago as the Scarecrow, Chrystee Pharris as the Tin Man, and Jay Morong as the Lion in ... a wonderful Wiz."
—The South End News

Sound Design/Musical Composition Reviews

A Tuff Shuffle: Backstage with Louis Armstrong
"It's 90 minutes of non-stop with no intermission from the most renowned soloist in the history of jazz."
—Perry Tannenbaum, Creative Loafing

What Limbs May Come
"The Notario Dance Company, directed and choreographed by Brook Notary presented What Limbs May Come, a self-produced program of nine short works seen earlier this month at The Kitchen. In Passing featured five dances in gem-colored outfits to a commissioned score by James Vesce. Notary's experience in circus performance has certainly served her to create some interesting theatrical works. The company's youthful enthusiasm and admirable production values may carry its performances ..."
—Susan Yung, danceinsider.com

8 Short Works
"The Notorio Dance Company presented eight short works plus an opening sequence at the Duke on 42nd Street. Brook Notary, the choreographer has consistently choreographed, and her dances consistently presented, the fantastic on a human scale. The program was well curated with a mix of styles. Ms. Notary and the Notario Dance Company are a refreshing wellspring of creativity that audiences should watch out for in the future."
—Robert Abrams, exploredance.com

New Works
"Choreographer Brook Notary fuses her background in rhythmic gymnastics, circus, and modern dance to stretch the boundaries of contemporary dance. Her subjects range from the surreal to the visceral; sometimes she invites you in to a world inhabited by bizarre creatives and inanimate objects come to life. Other times she explores the most basic intimacies of the human experience."
—Joyce Soho Preview

"The choreography, of Artistic director Brook Notary, abounded with ingenious effects."
—Jack Anderson, The New York Times

Assassins
"It's a dark, dark show, cloaked in song and dance. But the current production offers up some compelling theater. The cast is strong, the production values can't be faulted ... a professional caliber show."
—Margot Cleary, The Daily Hampshire Gazette

Lily Dale
"Lily Dale is number three in an eight-play cycle, and it feels like it. The era of high-necked dresses and high-button shoes is nicely evoked by James Vesce's music, both vintage and original."
—The Valley Advocate