Hey Internet,
This past weekend I opened in “The Huntsmen” at Portland Playhouse. Opening night received a standing ovation and multiple curtain calls. It feels wonderful to be so thoroughly embraced by the Portland arts community. Here is what the reviews had to say about my performance (please click on the links for the full articles):
“At the heart of this remarkable production, under the pitch perfect, tone deft [sic] direction of Kathleen Dimmick, is Dean Linnard, fresh from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and utterly fascinating as a gawky kid with a golden voice, a moral vacancy and a fantasy life that often bleeds, shall we say, into the real world.”
Martly Hughley, The Oregonian
“Played with mesmerizing zeal by Dean Linnard, Devon is equal parts clumsy teen, moody murderer and smooth crooner … Linnard’s voice is beautifully clean, and he injects the songs with surprising psychological intensity.”
Rebecca Jacobson, Willamette Week
“Dean Linnard [is] morbidly hypnotic as the altered teen with a blade.”
“New York actor Linnard plays Devon with awkward intensity, a frenetic ball of freak out that stares intently into the distance while his skinny arms scat in frenzies of staccato movement. With his gawky limbs, wild mop of hair, and tense, shoulders-pulled-back posture, he comes across almost as a cartoon killer, further deboning what could easily tilt into too gruesome a tale …
[T]he three supporting male actors (Gavin Gregory, Jared Miller, and O’Connell—all with fabulous voices) … provide the accompaniment to Linnard’s nimble, expressive tenor.”
Aaron Scott, Portland Monthly
“As portrayed by Linnard, Devon is a squirrely, jittery kid who only seems at home when he’s singing lead vocals in the doo-wop numbers that dominate his inner life. Linnard’s got a great voice, and he’s capably backed by the rest of the ensemble in original songs that easily pass for doo-wop standards.”
Alison Hallett, The Portland Mercury
“[T]he astonishing part … comes at the end of the scene, another bloody deed done, when Devon launches into “Speedoo,” … and Dean Linnard changes from an insatiable grub into a divine doo-wop butterfly. The beat, the close harmony, Linnard’s youthful tenor lifted in a mild version of the traditional boasting song!”
Barry Johnson, Oregon ArtsWatch
And finally, theater critic Marty Hughley said the following about our production in The Oregonian (Oregon’s largest newspaper):
“Quincy Long’s delightfully twisted play, which opened its world-premiere run Saturday at Portland Playhouse, delivers the most surprising, strange and satisfying theater of the season so far …
[T]here’s smooth singing and psychologically precise acting from everyone here … As an ensemble, they take reality and delusion, dreams and fears, humor and horror and turn it all into a transporting kind of music.”
“The Huntsmen” runs through February 17th at Portland Playhouse.