Category: Reviews
DISGRACED at McCarter Theatre
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*Philly.com, “Ebrahimzadeh, charm ablaze, repeats the smartest trick in Akhtar’s playbook, the same one at the heart of The Invisible Hand: With whom do we identify? Amir is so likeable, so reasonable. He’s us, and yet he’s not. And if he’s not us, who are we?”
*DCMetroTheatreArts, “At the center of it all, Maboud Ebrahimzadeh is captivating as protagonist Amir… He has an easy grace and an infectious smile, at war with an inner turmoil, yet still especially compassionate in scenes with his nephew Abe (Abit Dileep). There are times when the circumstances seem so stacked against him that the playwright retains the upper hand, but Ebrahimzadeh’s natural charisma and nobility make this uniquely flawed anti-hero a joy to explore.”
*Phindie.com, “Of the three productions I’ve seen of Ayad Akhtar’s honest, far-reaching play, Marcela Lorca’s staging for Princeton’s McCarter Theatre is the best. By far. By miles. One reason for that is the stirring tour de force performance of Maboud Ebrahimzadeh, already in award contention for his work in another Akhtar piece, Theatre Exile’s The Invisible Hand. Ebrahimzadeh thoroughly and humanly shows you the thousand compartmental traits and dimensions that compose his character, Amir Kapoor… Ebrahimzadeh is an actor of super-tactile sensitivity and honest emotion. ”
*NJArts.net, “The production, directed by Marcela Lorca — and featuring an intense, wrenching performance by Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as its central character, Amir, a Pakistani-American lawyer — does justice to this powder keg of a play… It’s doubtful that you’ll ever have a chance to see a significantly better [production].”
*BroadStreetReview, ” Ebrahimzadeh plays Amir with humor and charm, revealing a man who’s reinvented himself to fit into a culture wary of Muslims, but who now doesn’t know who or what he is, as we find out in an explosion of violence that doesn’t ring true, more because of the script than the performances, after secrets are revealed.”
*NJ.com, “Ebrahimzadeh is a wonder, allowing us to understand the internal contradictions of a man who has spent decades trying to come to terms with his religious upbringing — and his experiences as a Muslim in America — but remains incapable of making sense of things.”
*CentralJersey.com, “Ebrahimzadeh is brilliant as Amir, a man whose confidence is shattered. His emotional turmoil is truly affecting.”
*TownTopics.com, “Ebrahimzadeh as Amir provides a strong, convincing focus for the action of the play — in his sophisticated swagger as a confident, successful lawyer; in his loving, often difficult interactions with his wife; in his attempts to help his nephew; in his contentious relationships with Isaac and Jory; in his struggle to reconcile his Muslim heritage with his ambitious pursuit of the American Dream; and in his ultimate disgrace.”
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Amir
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Amir, Caroline Kaplan as Emily, Kevin Isola as Isaac, and Austene Van as Jory.
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Amir, Caroline Kaplan as Emily, and Adit Dileep as Abe
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Amir
Kevin Isola as Isaac, Caroline Kaplan as Emily, Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Amir, Austene Van as Jory.
Caroline Kaplan and Maboud Ebrahimzadeh
THE INVISIBLE HAND at Theatre Exile
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*Philly.com, “It’s an excellent cast, but Ebrahimzadeh gets Bashir just right, from his tight shoulders and flitting eyes to the way the tension in the room relaxes when he does.”
*DCMetroTheatreArts, “As Bashir, Maboud Ebrahimzadeh makes for an excellent contrast with [Ian Merrill] Peakes – open and playful at times but brimming with stubbornness, and scowling when he feels he’s being condescended to.”
*Broad Street Review, “The play’s most fascinating scenes occur between Nick (Ian Merrill Peakes) and Bashir (Maboud Ebrahimzadeh)… The performances are extraordinarily convincing, and it’s refreshing to see Muslim characters who aren’t evil stereotypes.”
*Phindie.com, “The four actors, all of whom appear to be extraordinarily bright, approach their roles with grounded intensity and unfussy concentration.”
THE PILLOWMAN at Forum Theatre
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*Washington Post, “This version, too, often artfully exploits the border area between humor, suspense and dread. Part of the credit goes to Ebrahimzadeh’s persuasive portrait of Katurian as a laid-back yet cocky working-class striver and to Konicek’s affecting turn as the alarmingly childlike Michal.”
*DCTheatreScene, “Cannily shaded performances from Maboud Ebrahimzadeh and especially James Konicek are key draws in Forum Theatre’s revival… a nuanced and emotionally plangent rapport between Ebrahimzadeh and Konicek, who take the time to connect not just with the words and the claims in the text, but with each other’s eyes and bodies in the playing space. There’s a convincing sense that they’ve lived long together, that only they know what they know. And as the play’s circumstances force a change in that dynamic, the emotional cost for both men, and for the audience, is substantial.”
*TheatreBloom, “Ebrahimzadeh delivers his character with a striking level of vulnerability and earnestness. There is no subversion or provocation in his portrayal, only honest emotions, most of which translate plainly across his vividly expressed face. When Ebrahimzadeh delves into ‘storytelling mode’ either directly to the audience, like in cases of “The Writer and The Writer’s Brother” or in “The Little Jesus”, he becomes a vessel of words that transports the tale to our ears and our ears to the tale.”
*BroadwayWorld, “What keeps us intrigued are some solid performances led by Ebrahimzadeh, who anchors the production. He gives a wonderfully nuanced performance as Katurian, effortlessly channeling the character’s various layers. There’s the passionate storyteller, devoted brother and street-smart prisoner all of which we see in his relationships with each of the other characters.”
*DCist, “The actors are all willing and highly capable… with over-the-top-playfulness and imposing physical presences, bringing more than enough comedic chops to make the audience laugh… just enough barely-under-the-surface sadism to never make those laughs feel totally comfortable. Maboud Ebrahimzadeh’s Katurian plays off of this feeling well, knowing exactly when to play the straight man to [the] antics and when to open up and reveal some of Katurian’s many inner darkness (and there is more than enough to fill a show).”
*TakomaVoice, “Maboud Ebrahimzadeh is an engaging, but mentally tough, Katurian: fiercely loyal to his brother, yet ultimately most loyal of all to his calling as a writer. He makes you believe it.”
*DCMetroTheatreArts, “Ebrahimzadeh is a compelling Katurian, crafting a character who is disarmingly down to earth while flashing deep seated neuroses leading back to his parents’ horrific abuses.”
*Two Hours Traffic, “The ensemble is truly excellent, rising to the challenge of McDonagh’s dialogue and the plot’s dark twists and turns. Ebrahimzadeh in particular is absolutely mesmerizing, from an affable charm in the first act to a haunting desperation as his situation takes an abrupt turn in Act II.”
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Katurian Katurian
Jim Jorgensen, Maboud Ebrahimzadeh, and Bradley Foster Smith
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh and James Konicek
James Konicek and Maboud Ebrahimzadeh
James Konicek and Maboud Ebrahimzadeh
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh and James Konicek
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh and James Konicek
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Katurian Katurian
Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Katurian Katurian
THE TALE OF THE ALLERGIST’S WIFE at Theater J
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*Washington Post, “Maboud Ebrahimzadeh plays Mohammed, the well-read doorman who is friendly with the Taubs. The character stands at a doorman’s station, just beyond the main playing area, frequently scribbling — a detail that suggests that Mohammed may be the aspiring writer who is penning Marjorie’s story. Judging by the entertainment value of the tale we see, he’s a doorman-writer with a future.”
*DCTheatreScene, “The tale is presented by a clever, helpful and patient doorman, Mohammed, embodied as an omniscient factotum by the gifted and versatile Maboud Ebrahimzadeh. Mohammed serves as a scribe, a handy man, a confidante throughout the evening and Ebrahimzadeh is perfect for the role.”
*CityPaper, “The other standout performer is Maboud Ebrahimzadeh, who plays Mohammed, the good-natured Iraqi doorman/handyman who works in the Taubs’ building. He’s our narrator, and his scrawlings appear as supertitles above the stage over the scene changes.”
*Washington Jewish Weekly, “The Iraqi-born doorman, Mohammed, who observes from the side of the stage at his sentry-like post, has a minor but essential role…. Maboud Ebrahimzadeh gives Mohammed the devilish charm that an unattached observer needs to take down his targets. With operatic eye rolls and exaggerated shrugs, the lives of his rich and angsty charges are put into perspective.”
*Washington Blade, “Narrating and sometimes participating in the tale is Mohammed, the Iraqi doorman played subtly and wryly by Maboud Ebrahimzadeh.”
*DCMetroTheaterArts, “Maboud Ebrahimzadeh’s stolid performance as Mohammed has the effect of grounding the play and its lightweight first world problems in a weightier context—even as the jokes fly fast and furious.”
*BroadwayWorld, “The strong cast, introduced to us by the bellman, Mohammed (played inspiringly by Maboud Ebrahimzadeh), work well individually and even better as a tight-knit ensemble.”
*MDTheatreGuide, “Maboud Ebrahimzadeh, veteran to the Washington stage, plays Mohammed an immigrant doorman the perfect quiet albeit judgmental observer.
*DCist, “The play is similarly lifted whenever Mohammed (Maboud Ebrahimzadeh) enters a scene, though he sadly spends most of the play behind a podium just offstage, reacting to the drama in the apartment, as if he is both author of, and an observer to, the story.”
The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, Theater J. 2015.
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THE LIAR at Gulfshore Playhouse
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*Naples Daily, “Nickell infuses the show with fun — and his actors toss that silliness out into the crowd. Keabler and Maboud Ebrahimzadeh’s ecstatic leather-clad Alcippe (he’s the hard-rocking hair-metal bad-boy who crashed this party)…”
*Theater Notes, “There’s no way, watching the “Liar” at work, that we aren’t, tenderly or ruthlessly, confronted by the lies we, each, have told, lies that had ramifications on other people caught in the web of our lies. But, what fun it is…. You almost have to go just to see what really professional actors can do with a really fine script…. There’s not a lemon in the whole grove. I promise an un-sour evening for everyone in the audience. The loud standing ovation didn’t lie.”
*ArtsCommentary, “This is one of those magical plays where everyone involved, onstage and offstage, is superlative and everything they do comes together perfectly. Kudos to Mr. Nickell, who gets the right tone of craziness and off-kilter humor from his very talented cast.”
*News-Press.com, “There’s not a weak actor in the bunch, but the most memorable performances include Alexis Hyatt’s formidable love interest Clarice; Maboud Ebrahimzadeh’s intense, ticked-off Alcippe (including some cool Michael Jackson dance moves); and particularly Kate Siepert as the twins Isabelle and Sabine — one is sexually aggressive, the other is an unapologetic sourpuss, but both are laugh-out-loud funny.”
