Category: Reviews
SMALL MOUTH SOUNDS at Round House Theatre
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A bunch of reviews for Small Mouth Sounds at Round House Theatre are in! Follow the links for the articles below including a full on radio interview with WTOP!
*WTOP, “Small Mouth Sounds at Round House has crowds roaring at silent cast.” Full Interview Audio
*MDTheatreGuide, “This cast is small but mighty, everyone perfectly suited to both their character and also the larger challenge of conveying that character without the support of much dialogue…. This performance was an emotional triumph that truly took the audience on a personal journey along with the cast. I’d strongly recommend taking this journey yourself, if only to remind yourself that you are not alone.”
*DCTheatreScene, “Maboud Ebrahimzadeh, supplely playing a yogi whose motives may be more carnal than transcendental, a yogic soba noodle who twists himself into studly poses to be admired by all assembled…. We are asked to turn it down and tune into the silences that either fill us with peace or paw at our uncertainties and disquiet. Small Mouth Sounds, with its gentle humor and compassion, reveals to us the many ways in which words get in the way.”
*BroadwayWorld, “The silence of Small Mouth Sounds intensifies the emotional impact of every dramatic or comedic moment on stage. Initially, it may be harder to know where the action is onstage but no matter where you look on stage, Small Mouth Sounds delivers engaging theatre.”
*Washington Post, “A vaguely famous, enviably flexible and undeniably handsome man is played with bristling confidence and a catlike smile by Maboud Ebrahimzadeh…. Give this batch of actors credit for being persuasively alive and revealingly interconnected at all times, even when there’s nothing for them to do but wait for the next thing to happen.”
*DCMetroTheaterArts, “Small Mouth Sounds is a rare theatrical experience that not only invites us to think our own thoughts along with the characters but leaves us quiet time to do so. And whether we experience such shared quietude as transcendent or a send-up, this semiserious comedy generously leaves up to us.”
*DCist, “Small Mouth Sounds succeeds as a formal innovation because the cast is evenly terrific. These characters are similarly—and thoroughly—damaged.”
THE INVISIBLE HAND at Olney Theatre Center
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The reviews for The Invisible Hand at Olney Theatre Center! Follow the links for the full articles.
*Washington Post, “As Bashir, Maboud Ebrahimzadeh purposefully sounds Pakistani by way of London, and he blends the character’s defensive ego with a savvy streak… you can almost hear the brain and the blood whir…”
*MDTheatreGuide, “Maboud Ebrahimzadeh… gives a performance that can send chills down your spine—not so much for the rare instances of violence—but for the complete portrayal of a man so conflicted and so desperate to believe in the rightness of his cause that he practically vibrates at times.”
*DCTheatreScene, “Maboud Ebrahimzadeh delivers a mighty, sinewy performance as the London-born revolutionary Bashir who travels back to his ancestral land to follow the charismatic Imam Saleem. He has to navigate a tightrope, balancing Bashir’s altruistic desires, passionate beliefs, and the appalling actions he ultimately takes.”
*DCMetroTheatreArts, “It would be hard to find a better portrayer of Bashir than Ebrahimzadeh, who completely embodies this character. He becomes Bashir…
*CultureSpotMC, Interview with Maboud Ebrahimzadeh and Thomas Keegan, Full Article.
Poster for The Invisible Hand, Olney Theatre, 2018
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Bashir in The Invisible Hand
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Bashir in The Invisible Hand
Thomas Keegan and Maboud Ebrahimzadeh in The Invisible Hand
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Bashir in The Invisible Hand
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Bashir in The Invisible Hand
Thomas Keegan and Maboud Ebrahimzadeh in The Invisible Hand
Thomas Keegan and Maboud Ebrahimzadeh in The Invisible Hand
THE BOOK OF WILL at Round House Theatre
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The reviews for The Book of Will at Round House Theatre! Follow the links for the full articles.
*WashingtonPost, “… with winning lead turns from Todd Scofield and Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as the actors on a hunt…”
*CityPaper, “There’s really no reason this shouldn’t be the movie it already feels like, and it’s tough to imagine Hollywood could improve upon Round House Theatre’s cast: Todd Scofield and Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Misters Heminges and Condell, respectively…”
*DCTheatreScene, “The chief virtue of Ryan Rilette’s production is the all-star ensemble and the rich variety of vibrant characters they bring to life… [Ebrahimzadeh’s Condell is] fiery and headstrong…”
*BroadwayWorld, “Henry Condell, hilariously played by Maboud Ebrahimzadeh… Under Ryan Rilette’s excellent direction, a uniformly marvelous cast gives one of the best ensemble performances I’ve seen this season of a very strong play.”
*EntertainmentOrDie, “… the leading pair of Scofield and Ebrahimzadeh really put the heart and soul into the story…”
*DCMetroTheatreArts, “Todd Scofield and Maboud Ebrahimzadeh give both these characters good presence…”
*MDTheatreGuide, “Ebrahimzadeh’s Condell offers a more fiery persona…”
THE PRICE at Arena Stage
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*Washington Post, “Maboud Ebrahimzadeh is another of Sueko’s assets; his earthy, blunt style feels exactly right as Victor. Ebrahimzadeh channels the character’s intelligence and good-guy ethics lightly, which is pivotal if you’re going to keep Miller’s play from feeling like a righteous harangue.”
*BrightestYoungThings, “The actor who pulls the play out of the fire is Ebrahimzadeh. He has the hardest work to do, playing moments of revelation, shame, moral righteousness, and quite a bit of pain, and he dives in. The climax is his.”
*BroadwayWorld, “Attention must certainly be paid especially to Maboud Ebrahimzadeh. He’s delivered a number of wonderful performances on area stages in the past few years (his performance in Round House Theatre’s Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo was particularly memorable), but his work at Arena surpasses all of that. It’s that sensational. Nuanced yet explosive acting when required, he reveals all of Victor’s many layers with considerable skill.”
*WomanAroundTown, “As Victor, Maboud Ebrahimzadeh goes toe to toe with Linden. Solomon uses the various pieces of furniture to draw Victor out about his father and their lives. Ebrahimzadeh displays a range of emotions during these conversations that sum up his feelings about his father and his life.”
*TheaterMania, “Maboud Ebrahimzadeh plays Victor with conviction, expressing just the right amount of tension until the last burst of fireworks, when he lets his temper flare completely. He alternates between those tense moments with his brother and extremely tender ones with his wife, who needs a lot of pampering.”
*Alexandria Times, “Playing off an exceptional performance of Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Victor Franz, a frustrated cop who failed to realize his potential, this production, artfully directed by Seema Sueko, is a well-cast delight that brings both searing drama and mood-lightening humor to the American stage.”
*MDTheatreGuide, “Maboud Ebrahimzadeh portrayal of Victor is heartbreaking in his reactions to the family treachery he learns about. It is a pitch-perfect depiction of a good man coming to terms with decisions (a word used very often by his brother) that he had known nothing of, and yet which impacted his life so deeply.”
*MetroWeekly, “At the center is the put-upon Victor Franz, a man trying to stand his ground against the world’s expectations and his own self-doubt. Bringing a skillful mix of confidence and agitation, Maboud Ebrahimzadeh is memorably compelling as this husband and troubled younger brother. He very much gets Miller’s syncopation and his rhythms of expression…”
*TheDCMoms, “Go to The Price for Linden, but stay for the standout performance by Maboud Ebrahimzadeh…”
*DCMetroTheatreArts, “Ebrahimzadeh’s Victor might not have the edge of a police officer who has been on the beat for half his life, but he more than makes up for it with his stoically repressed delivery.”
TIMON OF ATHENS at Folger Theatre
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*DCTheatreScene, “As for Ebrahimzadeh, he has, for as long as I’ve watched him (nearly ten years, now), been a subject-matter expert in presenting characters whose pleasant facades mask a violent impulse. He outdoes himself as Alcibaides, though…. That Ebrahimzadeh can do this with little help from the text shows what a fine economical actor he is, and how suited to this role.”
*DCMetroTheaterArts, ” Alcibiades (a solid, stoic, friend-to-the-end Maboud Ebrahimzadeh) defeats Athens but promises to protect the city and its citizens.”
*BroadwayWorld, “The support cast is often just as inspired,… Maboud Ebrahimzadeh‘s thoughtful soldier Alcibiades among the standouts.”
*DCist, “Ebrahimzadeh and Robinson are wonderful, warm, and genuine in their roles, providing the sole rays of hope for those who wish to believe in mankind’s goodness.
*TheatreBloom, “The only one among them who sets themselves apart is the noble, albeit misguided, Alcibiades… Ebrahimzadeh takes the character on a transformative journey, which opens up his inner rogue spirits for all to see by the second act.”
*TheaterMania, “Maboud Ebrahimzadeh is stalwart as Alcibiades, the military man who is Timon’s friend.”
Ian Merrill Peakes and Maboud Ebrahimzadeh
Antoinette Robinson, Louis Butelli, Kathryn Tkel, Sean Fri, and Maboud Ebrahimzadeh
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Alcibiades
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Alcibiades
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Alcibiades
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Alcibiades
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Alcibiades
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh and Ian Merrill Peakes
Amanda Forstrom, Ian Merrill Peakes, and Maboud Ebrahimzadeh
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Alcibiades
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Alcibiades