Birder Reviews
Los Angeles Times- Somewhat Recommended
"...In contrast, the lighter, more intricately staged "Birder" revels in quirky, meta-theatrical artifice, complete with flashbacks, overt symbolism and fourth-wall puncturing monologues. Its protagonist, the accountant Roger (Chet Grissom), is a poor excuse for a dad, although unlike John, Roger always has played by the rules in pursuit of an affluent lifestyle. Like so many in the disappearing middle class, Roger grapples with the pressures of living beyond his means; his atypical answer to midlife crisis, however, is to quit his job and take up bird watching under the reluctant mentorship of Charles (Webster Williams), a lonely widower."
StageHappenings.com- Recommended
"...Birder was commissioned and developed by the Center Theatre Group. The production by The Road Theatre Company is outstanding with an impressive cast that also includes Crash Buist who portrays Todd, the fiancé of Rebecca, as well as two off-stage actors, Charlie Schenk and Kekoa Pastron who voice Roger's and Joyce's two sons. Tom Buderwitz is responsible for the unusual and functional scenic design enhanced by the lighting and projection design by Tom Ontiveros."
NoHoArtsDistrict- Recommended
"...Birder is a brilliant, highly imaginative and fascinating depiction of a life in crisis - a man questioning his role as a father and a husband and a human being existing in a high pressured and impossible to fulfill role in society that he himself helped create. It examines our need for silence and peace in our overloaded and undervalued lives and what happens when we are all too busy to notice that we are falling apart."
Stage Raw- Recommended
"...Tom Bunderwitz's cubist scenic design, along with Tom Ontiveros' projections, adds interesting dimension to the play while serving to seamlessly transport us across settings. And director Dan Bonnell demonstrates a good understanding of the script, characters, and the skills of the performers, utilizing all to their full advantage."
Theater Times- Recommended
"...The play's timeline goes back and forth, which is signaled in supertitles projected onto the uneven surface of Tom Buderwitz's abstract set. They're easy to miss, and by the time one notices one among the leafy images of Tom Ontiveros' slide montage, it may be too late to get yourself situated, especially since things seemed to be progressing along a forward motion anyway."