Los Angeles Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...That makes for an entertaining evening, but "Mistresses" doesn't get close to the blistering anguish of another play about an interracial academic union, "Neighbors," still the rawest take on the subject in the last several seasons."
LA Weekly - Not Recommended
"...Like its bloviating central character, Andrew Dolan's new drama strives to be incisive and deep but plays out as merely shallow and smug."
Backstage - Recommended
"...Though the challenging script could use some smoothing out, director Rod Menzies' consummately acted production is intelligent and provocative."
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...Rod Menzies' world premiere of Andrew Dolan's The Many Mistresses of Martin Luther King displays such discipline of command, such consistent excellence of presentation, that to miss it may be the worst mistake this year involving a trip not made to Glendale."
EyeSpyLA - Recommended
"...Dolan has a gift for making the language and conversation of these intellectually minded people sound absolutely authentic, and passionately alive. Allusions and contrasts are drawn between theatrical history, cultural criticism, and sociology that are as complex as they are meaningful-but most importantly, the dialogue crackles with energy and focus-in perfect harmony with Rod Menzies' effortless, assured direction."
StageHappenings.com - Recommended
"...Fortunately, too, EST/LA has enveloped the text with superlative stage values."
Examiner - Recommended
"...Frankly this is sometimes a play that can be a bit difficult to follow and the path is not always crystal clear but there is not one moment that is not thoroughly entertaining and moving."
Campus Circle - Recommended
"...Carefully collaborated elements of writing, performance and tech come together to create a show that is both intriguing and entertaining. Indicative of the collective talents of all those involved, "The Many Mistresses of Martin Luther King" is a textbook example of how a quality theater performance should be delivered."
Will Call - Somewhat Recommended
"...However, the playwright's intention of, and I quote from the flyer "presenting racial issues in a bold and dangerous way", does not quite live up to its promise."
Neon Tommy - Not Recommended
"...It holds much potential for a provocative and controversial play. Sadly, "Many Mistresses" fulfills none of it. Like its title, the play calls attention to itself with its supposedly groundbreaking approach to racial attitudes in America; beneath the surface, however, there is little depth to its content. As a far greater playwright would put it, "Many Mistresses" is "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.""
MadTheatrics - Somewhat Recommended
"...In spite of these drawbacks, there is much to like about the production, particularly as I've mentioned the layered performances, the beautifully written, often funny and striking dialogue and the atmospheric and balanced direction."
Working Authur - Recommended
"...Nowadays, unfortunately, you often encounter dramas in the theater which are basically half-assed, re-packaged "Movies of the Week". "The "Many Mistresses of Martin Luther King" is the polar opposite of this. This is a work of the theatre, woven with gravitas and intelligence which has found a perfect expression in the matching talents of its production. You will seldom see a more impeccable unity of material, cast and creative staff than "The Many Mistresses of Martin Luther King" offers, and it must be acknowledged as a feather in the bonnet of artistic director and producer Gates McFadden, and a great, huge, luminous feather at that."
