Los Angeles Times - Recommended
"...Oscar nominee Kazan has dramatized another woman out of bounds (his pantheon includes "Patty Hearst," "Frances" and Sunny von Bulow in "Reversal of Fortune"), and Marks exuberantly drives the evening, skewering hypocrites and raising pulse rates. But the playwright hasn't found a conflict equal to Lulu's life force, and the result is a meditation on male vulnerability and female abundance that manages to be both delicious and unsatisfying. Who expected this vixen to be anti-climactic?"
Variety - Somewhat Recommended
"...Yet in "Mlle. God," Annika Marks' Lulu is perfectly swell; it's the rest of the cast that can't get it up. Proper appreciation of Nicholas Kazan's promising script must await a company more committed to living out its critique of sexual politics than helmer Scott Paulin has chosen to assemble at Ensemble Studio Theater's cozy new Atwater Village space."
LA Weekly - Somewhat Recommended
"...Playwright Nicholas Kazan's uninspired spin on Frank Wedekind's "Lulu" plays comes as a cautionary reminder of just how difficult it is to capture libido on a stage. What some might think is the essence of the erotic mystique will certainly seem for others to be little more than an embarrassingly self-revealing mistake. That the latter proves to be the case in director Scott Paulin's pallid production is not for the want of trying."
Backstage - Recommended
"...Nicholas Kazan's audacious adaptation of Franz Wedekind's two-play "Lulu" cycle views the controversial works through a distinctly modern lens. There's much to admire in this new script and in director Scott Paulin's staging, though its impact is somewhat compromised by tonal inconsistencies. Thankfully, a fine cast offers considerable compensation in this intelligent and ambitious undertaking."
LAist - Not Recommended
"...Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA's world premiere production of Mlle. God is being billed as a sexual "dark comedy." Unfortunately the play, written by Oscar-nominated writer Nicholas Kazan (Reversal of Fortune, Enough), isn't quite dark or funny enough. And the sex and power struggles that underlie the play are also a little lacking in the oomph department."
Edge - Recommended
"...The play's advertising includes a poster depicting pubic herbs on a woman's bare crotch. With that and the evening's opening scene, you would be justified in expecting an evening of light farcical comedy. But Mlle. God turns deadly serious by the end of the first act and continues down a dark and troubling path to its finale."
Stage and Cinema - Not Recommended
"...unfortunately, any version of this work is pointless without a charismatic Lulu. Annika Marks has the spirit but not the guts, and, if depth of character eludes her, the fault lies with the writer and with the director, Scott Paulin, who finds no way to make any of this in the least compelling. (There are two casts, but it honestly doesn't make a difference.) Get thee to Netflix."
EyeSpyLA - Highly Recommended
"...Powerful and provocative, "Mlle. God" explores one woman's faith in her own feminism and lures the audience deep within her sexual psyche."
Stage Scene LA - Recommended
"...Though Mlle. God's mood changes are a bit too schizophrenic for my taste, under Paulin's dynamic direction and featuring a star turn as stunning as the one delivered by Marks, there are ample reasons to sample Kazan's play, not the least of which is its exciting, brand new venue, the Atwater Village Theatre. Who said L.A. isn't a great theater town?"
StageHappenings.com - Highly Recommended
"...Mlle. God wouldn't be half as compelling were it not for fearless performances of the cast. Long-time Kazan collaborator, Scott Paulin, make certain that the actors walk the fine line between exhibitionism and art, helping them bring psychological truth to the proceedings. Of all the women, Annika Marks' mercurial portrayal leads the way and the others rise to the occasion. While all the male characters tend to be ciphers, Keith Arthur Bolden penetrates the spell that Lulus place on most men."
Examiner - Recommended
"...mbodying the bisexual libertine of her collective creators' imaginations-who will do almost anything with almost anyone at any time-is Annika Marks, a young lady who seems poised to take Hollywood by storm. By turns earthy, sensuous, capricious, fierce and defiant, Marks propels Kazan's sharp-witted play like a train without brakes, while director Scott Paulin keeps the show running smoothly on track at all times."
Socal - Recommended
"...The work contains complex themes but remains buoyant and the cast push with pace through what is essentially a dialogue driven performance. It's smart and sexy. See it."
