SMALL WORLD : A Fantasia
Off Broadway at 59East59
and Penguin Repertory Theatre
By Fred Stroppel, Directed by Joe Brancato
"Mr. Shanahan makes Disney both a practical businessman and a creative spirit, an unstoppable channel of childlike wonder. His Disney is so enthralled with his whimsical, animal-filled tales that you can almost see his head drifting toward the clouds, a helium thought-balloon above his bright eyes and expressive eyebrows."
TRYST
Off-Broadway at Irish Repertory Theatre, Westport Country Playhouse,
Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Alley Theatre, Hartford Theatreworks
"Shanahan... is always a welcome presence onstage, but he gives a particularly clever and challenging performance here." -- The New York Times
"Andrea Maulella and Mark Shanahan supply expert performances." -- The New York Times
"Shanahan and Maulella could act out the phone book and they'd still mesmerize.." -- Backstage
"Shanahan is haunting." -- Houston Press
CTC and IRNE AWARD Nominee, Best Actor
By Karoline Leech, Directed by Joe Brancato
CHECKERS Off-Broadway, The Vineyard Theatre
By Douglas Mcgrath, Directed by Terry Kinney
"Meet the Nixons" - article from the New York Times
THE SHAUGHRAN Irish Repertory Theatre
By Dionne Boucicault, Directed by Charlotte Moore
"[Shanahan is] an excellent comic" -- The New York Times
THE WEIR White Heron Theatre
By Conor McPherson, Directed by Amanda Charlton
"Shanahan’s portrayal as a likeable yet disheveled Jim leaves the audience laughing at his strange habits while also appreciating his kindness... a phenomenal cast." -- Yesterday/Today
HITCHCOCK BLONDE Alley Theatre
By Terry Johnson, Directed by Gregory Boyd
"Shanahan makes the movie-mad Alex smooth-talking and persuasive" - Houston Chronicle
DAVID COPPERFIELD Westport Country Playhouse
By Giles Havergall, Directed by Anne Keefe and Joanne Woodward
"Played with intelligence and charm by Mark Shanahan"
-- Variety
THE HOLLOW Alley Theatre
By Agatha Christie, Directed by Gregory Boyd
"Mark Shanahan is contemptuously vile and revolting... It is a true but delightfully invigorating rarity for an actor to craft a villain so repulsive that the audience is titillated by how much they loathe and detest the fictional human being strutting the stage before them!"
DEAD MAN'S CELL PHONE Hartford TheatreWorks
By Sarah Ruhl, Directed by Rob Ruggiero
"The dead man's brother is sweetly ineffectual in Mark Shanahan's appealing performance..." -- New York Times
DIAL M FOR MURDER Fulton Opera House
By Frederick Knott, Directed by William Roudebush
"Shanahan is a master of low key double takes"
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
Westport Country Playhouse
CTC AWARD Nominee, Best Actor
By Mark Brown, Directed by Michael Haney
"Mark Shanahan, whose Westport credits have included romantic leads in 'Tryst,' 'David Copperfield' and 'Journey's End,' is charming if almost unrecognizable as Phileas Fogg." -- New York Times
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
Hangar Theatre
By Mark Brown, Directed by Jesse Bush
"Shanahan makes an elegant Fogg!" -- Ithaca Times
SEDITION Westport Country Playhouse
By David Wiltse, Directed by Tazewell Thompson
"A compelling story"- New York Times
T. Charles Erickson
JOURNEY'S END
Alley Theatre & Westport Country Playhouse
By R.C. Sherriff, Directed by Gregory Boyd
"Shanahan is heart breaking." -- New York Theater Scene
"Without any qualification whatever, it ranks as one of the Alley's finest achievements." -- Houston Press
MRS. MANNERLY Penguin Rep
By Jeffrey Hatcher, Directed by Joe Brancato
"Shanahan is a joy to watch from start to finish."
TREASURE ISLAND Alley Theatre
World Premiere
By Ken Ludwig, Directed by Gregory Boyd
"Mark Shanahan snarls and roars approriately as cutthroat George Merry!" -- Houston Press
HARVEY Alley Theatre
By Mary Chase, Directed by Gregory Boyd
"Mark Shanahan and Emily Neves are terrific..." -- Houston Arts Week
WOMEN WHO STEAL Penguin Rep
By Carter Lewis, Directed by Suzanne Barabas
"Mark Shanahan, deftly [plays] all the male characters. The men include a phony waiter, Peggy’s husband and a geeky co-worker of Karen’s. That last characterization requires Mr. Shanahan to disguise his usual sexy charm, and he does it disconcertingly well." -- New York Times
"Shanahan is a chameleon." -- Times-Herald Record
WEST END HORROR
World Premiere Bay Street Theatre & Pioneer Theatre
By Tony and Marcia Dodge, Directed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge
"A remarkable cast." -- Deseret News
"A dashingly clever production!" -- Newsday
THE INTERNATIONALIST 45 Bleecker, 13P
World Premiere
By Anne Washburn, Directed by Ken Rus Schmoll
"As Lowell, Mark Shanahan is ingenuous yet sympathetic."
-- Backstage
AUGUSTA Merrimack Rep
By Rick Dresser, Directed by Charles Towers
"In one of the best performances we've seen to date on MRT's stage, Mark Shanahan is fabulous as Jimmy." -- Lowell Sun
PICASSO AT THE LAPIN AGILE
Depot Theatre
By Steve Martin, Directed by John Christopher Jones
"Shanahan's a strong Picasso, a fiery and emotional artist with an eye for the ladies!" -- NPR- North Country
MADAME KILLER Clubbed Thumb
By Honor Kane, Directed by Weir Harman
"Mark Shanahan delivers a salacious Wolver... His final rage [is] so authentic that the audience actually gasps. " -- Deseret News
ONE FOOT ON THE FLOOR
Denver Center Theatre
By Jeffrey Hatcher, Directed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge
"Married man Mark Shanahan...is being pursued by a hot, South American female....it's good, dirty fun!" -- The Denver Post
ANDROMEDA SHACK
Kennedy Center & Woolly Mammoth
By David Bucci, Directed by Lou Jacob
"Adolescent? You bet. But a lot of fun, too... Mark Shanahan and Christopher Roche play two roles apiece, to the max." -- Variety
NOISES OFF Playhouse on the Green
By Michael Frayn, Directed by Brian Feehan
"Brilliantly funny...[A] talented cast...This rollicking farce doubles in on itself, a roller coster ride of a play within a play." -- CT Post
PACK OF LIES
Script in hand at Westport Country Playhouse
Photo by Dave Matlow
AS BEES IN HONEY DROWN
Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel
By Douglas Carter Beane, Directed by Mark Brokaw
PHILADELPHIA STORY
Script in hand at Westport Country Playhouse
Photo by Dave Matlow
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE Westport Country Playhouse Script-In-Hand Series
"Christopher Walken was the runaway star of the show, but everyone shined ... including Joanne Woodward, who played an eccentric aunt... Mark Shanahan played the aunts' good nephew (even though he is a theater critic), the ever-flustered Mortimer who says, 'Insanity doesn't run in our family. It practically gallops.'"