peerless by Jiehae Park

Starring Marié Botha, Anthony Cason, Sasha Diamond, Benny Wayne Sully and Shannon Tyo

Scenic Design by Kristen Robinson

Costume Design by Amanda Gladu

Lighting Design by Mextly Couzin

Sound Design and Composition by Palmer Hefferan

Production Stage Manager: Megan Dickert

PRESS:

“The director, Margot Bordelon, never misses; this show, for Primary Stages, is another of her beautifully performed, pop-literate productions.”

- Helen Shaw, The New Yorker

“The playwright Jiehae Park’s sly and polished adaptation of “Macbeth” transports the characters from the Scottish heath to the halls of a Midwestern high school…Bordelon gives her young cast the trust and space to show what they can do.”

- Alexis Soloski, The New York Times

“Park’s dialogue is witty and quick, and director Margot Bordelon’s style thrives here in its hyperspecificity. Each cadence, movement, and transition are planned with near-clinical precision thanks to blocking that has the actors full-out-no-marking sprinting and/or speaking with a speed that must require a variety of diction exercises.”

- Amanda Marie Miller, Theatrely

“Peerless, a work that has been floating around the country for several years but finally makes its off-Broadway debut with a memorable Primary Stages production directed by Margot Bordelon…Park stylizes her play with repetitive dialogue and rhythmic patter that sets the nerves so on edge that you can't help but feel immediately threatened— if not by impending murder than by shattering anxiety (Kristen Robinson's overwhelmingly blue unit set provides an appropriately consuming vortex). This heightened tone, highlighting Bordelon's directorial precision and bolstered by Marié Botha's campy cameos as our clairvoyant witch character (blessed with the moniker "Dirty Girl") serves as both a quirky, modern answer to Shakespeare's lyricism.”

- Hayley Levitt, TheaterMania

“Park’s script is spare and taut, with not a wasted syllable; Bordelon’s direction amps up the crispness and the energy until the twins practically vibrate with every line, and Botha’s Dirty Girl feels genuinely unsettling and unpredictable. The production elements, too, are crisp and striking, in simple, saturated colors.”

- Loren Noveck, Exeunt NYC

“Director Margot Bordelon has given the play a polished, fast-paced staging that compliments Park’s vivid imagination. With the aid of some inspired design work (particularly the evocative lighting and sound), Bordelon has created a world for the play that stylishly exists somewhere between a comic book and a horror film. The five-person cast is fantastic all-around, especially the confident, technically accomplished work by Shannon Tyo (so good earlier this season in the title role of The Chinese Lady) and Sasha Diamond as the murderous twins M and L.”

- Adrian Dimanlig, Interludes

“It’s not easy to squeeze so many sociopolitical issues into a 90-minute play, while keeping it genuinely fun. But everything is meticulously and cleverly crafted, from the witty dialogue to the set and lighting design, choreography (yes, there is dancing), and even the poster… Despite its heavy subject matter, “peerless” is written and directed so cleverly that it remains a fun watch.”

- Sarah Jinee Park, Mochi Magazine

“The technical elements are sparse and supportive, integrated seamlessly by director Margot Bordelon, who has been with the production since its conception at Yale Repertory Theatre in 2015.”

- Grace Bydalek, New York Sun

“Margot Bordelon’s razor-sharp direction keeps the play moving at a clip—and the audience (whose average age was about 20 at my performance) in stitches.”

- August Cosentino

“Sure-handed direction by Bordelon and cleverly deployed sound, light and props help sustain the pace and mood in a production where timing and visual elements are key.”

- Adrienne Onofri, offoffonline

“Bordelon has drilled them so well that the peerless kick-off is something of a tour de force.”

- David Finkle, New York Stage Review