for GIRLS & BOYS
"All eyes and all ears are focused on actor Donnla Hughes’ remarkable performance and the spellbinding 16,000-word monologue she shares...Hughes displays remarkable physicality, grace, and vulnerability when pantomiming her interactions with the people from her memories. And her 11th-hour performance is heartbreaking as her character’s seemingly idyllic world falls apart...this is still a startling piece of work...being given a stellar production at the Gamm Theatre."
Boston Globe
"Donnla Hughes, whose extraordinary, unforgettable performance is one for the record books and a veritable master class in acting...Hughes interminably captivates the audience with her charm, candor, mindfulness, and resolute disposition...her piercing delivery is so personal and convincing—with her deliberate movements, thoughtful inflection, and the occasional sound effect or subtle change in lighting to bolster her storytelling—that it is hard to believe the script isn’t autobiographical...Although ‘Girls & Boys’ is irrefutably unsettling, the production is impressive, first and foremost because of Hughes’ outstanding portrayal, and a remarkable theatrical achievement."
Broadway World
"Hughes, "an artist of rare power, vulnerability and grace," as Gamm Artistic Director Tony Estrella so aptly says, is, as he continues, "the perfect actor to guide us through Kelly's complex, funny, shocking and timely story about parents and children, girls and boys."...Hughes is not only a master storyteller and skilled performer, but is somehow able to share this difficult story of motherhood, marriage and career-management with humor, sensitivity and deep, deep tenderness ... she is kind to her audience...Girls & Boys...is an intimate, remarkable, inspirational piece of theater, that, true to its promise, will remain with you long after you leave the theater. The Gamm has given us another "miracle of theatrical intimacy."
The Westerly Sun
"Donnla Hughes is a Rhode Island treasure...Hughes is our narrator for the evening. She is blunt and very, very funny...Every now and then, there is a look, a tone, a movement, that hints at trouble ahead. Hughes is masterful at flipping those moments. Until there’s no turning away."
East Grenwich News
"Hughes, who originally hails from Ireland, gives a powerhouse performance as the unnamed woman relating her heart-wrenching tale...a fascinating and gut-wrenching production that throws us into the deep end of a subject not often discussed in life or theatre. It will move you, it will shock you, but it also may give you hope, and that is a testament to a play well produced and performed."
Edge Media Network
for IRONBOUND
“Donnla Hughes is spectacular as Polish immigrant Darja, a stunningly difficult role to pull off considering she not only masters the Polish accent but also does so through a multitude of emotional breakdowns as she haggles with current and past loves and people coming in and out of her life.”
BroadwayWorld
“The 4-member cast is excellent, starting with Donnla Hughes, as Darja. Hughes is onstage for the entire 90-minute play – strong, tough, frustrated, loving, angry and, ultimately, complicit.” EastGreenwich News
“Hughes deserves the standing ovation she got. She’s on stage 100% of the time and jumps into a new Darja for each of the snapshot screens. From hopeful and looking forward to her new future to resolved and determined to make her future work, Hughes is perfect.”
What’s Up Newp
for DESCRIBE THE NIGHT
“Donnla Hughes portrays Nikolai's wife, Yevgenia, with great range as we see this historical character in a wide array of situations and life stages, from a sophisticated Soviet elite to a folksy and fictional Slavic grandmother. Hughes shined in each facet of the character giving each one a unique sparkle.”
BroadwayWorld
“The show’s startling transformation comes from Donnla Hughes, who plays Yevgenia, the woman Babel loves..While her character ages, and Hughes skillfully transitions from nubile to elderly, that isn’t her most startling work. She is sent to an asylum, where subversive ideas are grounds for death, where Hughes transforms her character to a shell of her former self. She seems emaciated and shrunken, physically and emotionally, a visible reminder of oppression’s toll.”
Motif RI
for THE MAIDS
“Stunning performances and a striking production design make A Noise Within’s revival of Jean Genet’s The Maids a must… Donnla Hughes’ commanding Solange could not be more multi-layered or watchable throughout”
Stage Scene LA
“Hughes, last seen as a feisty and romantic Juliet, plays Solange with fierce determination….This triangle of servitude and power, envy, self-loathing and revenge is served up with passion and calculation by this impressive cast.”
South Pasadenan
for direction of FAITH HEALER
“This is a must-see production with a superb cast performing at the height of their craft… And Donnla Hughes, making her U.S. directing debut, ensures that every small detail is caught. The staging is crisp and unfussy, every word and gesture thoughtfully placed…This is a stellar directorial effort…a brilliantly acted, thoughtfully directed, and impeccably staged production of one of Brian Friel’s masterworks. It is a gripping evening of theatre at its most visceral and human. Highly recommended.”
Broadway World
“Brilliant. I can’t think of a better way to describe “Faith Healer,” currently on stage at the Gamm Theatre in Warwick. Simple brilliance all around…“Faith Healer” marks Donnla Hughes’ directorial debut in the United States, and it’s a slam-dunk winner. Students of acting should see “Faith Healer” as a master class in monologues. Brilliance all around.”
What’s Up New P
“At the Gamm, “Faith Healer” is an unforgettable mix of rich material, expertly presented, powerful and moving. In conclusion: Great theater.”
Independent RI
“Directed by Irish-born and -raised Donnla Hughes...incredible night of theater. Expect no loud or bombastic revelations here; the tragic story unfolds almost with a whisper, yet it will not soon be forgotten. This show highlights just what theater is truly about.” Edge Media Network
“Donnla Hughes...directs "Faith Healer," with precision, knowledge and sensitivity …This is a performance not to be missed.”
The Westerly Sun
“Gamm’s profound ‘Faith Healer’ holds you spellbound…Director Donnla Hughes adds subtleties to the play that draw you closer to the action. The characters are in constant motion. The smell and sight of the smoke of the stage cigarettes and the smell of actual beer fill the room.”
Cranston Herald
“Gamm’s staging of The Faith Healer is masterful…Director Donnla Hughes, originally from Ireland and making her US directorial debut, was exceptional.”
Paper Writer
For ROMEO & JULIET
“Donnla Hughes' Juliet, poised in manner and dignified in speech, is a revealing choice for Romeo's volatile affections. More than her innocent beauty, it is the nobility of her character that ensnares him — and by extension us.”
LA Times
“Donnla Hughes manages to carry off both the gangly awkwardness of Juliet’s barely-teen self while still finding the depths of that acid test of all Juliets, the potion scene. Indeed, her wrestling seems more organic to Juliet than is often true.”
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
“Ireland’s most recent gift to Los Angeles theatre Donnla Hughes is pure magic from Juliet’s first entrance, ethereal beauty mixed with fire and grit to spellbinding effect.”
StageSceneLA
“Donnla Hughes is an angst-ridden teenager who’s overflowing with sexuality. Hughes’ performance is fascinating—she takes Juliet from child to woman and her transformation is powerful.”
Tin Pan LA
for MISS BENNET CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY
“The protagonist this time out is Mary Bennet, played splendidly by Donnla Hughes…Hughes shines in the lead.”
Santa Barbara Independent
“Hughes is brilliant at expressing much in small increments. Mary’s longing, her fettered feelings and her gradual realization that life can be good, even for her, evolve hesitantly but steadily. On a thoroughly amusing note, Mary exhibits her roiling emotions by playing the piano at the back of the room, racing at full volume through turbulent musical territory at the drop of a hat.”
Ventura County Star
for TWELFTH NIGHT
“This is a dazzling show, stuffed with talent in every role, and staged with panache…This production centers, complicates, and polishes them to a high gloss with masterful performances and taut direction. Highly recommended.”
Broadway World
“The actors’ comic timing and handling of the Bard’s dexterous language are impeccable…I’ve seen performances at All-Shakespeare-All-The-Time playhouses, including London’s Globe Theatre, that pale by comparison. “
Motif RI
for THE UNDER ROOM
“Donnla Hughes' performance slides from fragile sensibility down to raging psychotic anger. Her calm in the early scenes makes her violence more unexpected and terrible..her fury was disturbing, perfect for the role.”
Iainfisher.com
“Donnla Hughes as Joan is excellent in what has to be a complex, slightly schizophrenic addressing, as she must, most of her dialogue to a stuffed dummy.”
The Stage.co.uk
“Donnla Hughes is energetic and very present as Joan torn between helping the stranger, and the harm it will ultimately cause her. Her final scenes are so visceral, raw and brutal they pulse in the intimate space as she takes the audience right to the edge, between theatre and reality.”
FringeReview.co.uk
