Los Angeles Times
- Recommended
"...Too much of the story is dictated more by the tenets of play construction than by in-the-moment honesty. But Shores, serving as his own director, reveals heart-tugging moments between the lines. Surprises abound, and the power is irresistible. We root for these people because we know them. They are our neighbors, our families, ourselves."
Variety
- Highly Recommended
"...The seriousness bubbling under all of Del Shores' campy southern Gothic farces takes center stage in his latest play "Yellow," as personal catastrophe pulls a family out of its complacency. Shores might've been wiser to hand off helming chores to someone inclined to trim the fat and steer clear of bathos. Its roughness and excesses notwithstanding, the beautifully cast Coast Playhouse premiere production casts a haunted, melancholy spell."
LA Weekly
- Highly Recommended
"...Yellow is a rippingly entertaining show, thanks largely to Shores' precision-bombing satire of self-absorbed teenagers and drama clubs. ("She's an amateur, a marginal talent," Kendall says, like John Simon, of the girl who got the lead in the high school production of Oklahoma). Add Shores' own direction of what may be the finest ensemble on a local stage so far this year. Shores needs to direct his play everywhere it goes, and preferably with this cast."
Backstage
- Highly Recommended
"...As the couple in marital crisis, Cowgill and McCullough imbue difficult roles with dignity and nuance. Leslie is superb as the abusive zealot, though the script could temper her character somewhat, so her eleventh-hour change of heart feels less jarring. Thompson excels at conveying the comic neurosis and underlying pathos of the bratty sister. Though script trimming is advisable, this powerfully moving work points to exciting new creative directions for a gifted playwright."
The Hollywood Reporter
- Recommended
"...The cast, under Shores' direction, wrings every last drop of pathos and humor from the twisty story. Cowgill and McCullough take us from marital bliss to marital anguish in convincing fashion. Thompson, as thinskinned, perpetually misunderstood Gracie, steals every scene she's in. Leslie has the most difficult job, playing a fundamentalist stereotype without a sympathetic bone in her body; everyone else gets to work through their stereotype, but she's stuck with hers (despite the ending) and makes the most of it. McClure is believable as the doomed son."
Stage Scene LA
- Highly Recommended
"...Yellow welcomes Del Shores and company back to the Los Angeles stage scene with a play and a production which amply justify the pre-opening hoopla and buzz. As completely satisfying a theatergoing experience as I've had this past year, if not longer, Yellow is a play I cannot wait to see again … and again. This is definitely one not to be missed!"
StageHappenings.com
- Recommended
"...Del Shores is one funny playwright. His comedies have long held their own in the rough-and-tumble competitive theatrical world out there; "Cheatin'," "Daddy's Dyin' (Who's Got the Will')," "Sordid Lives," "Southern Baptist Sissies," and "The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife," are still produced around the world. They're worth seeing as expertly satirical jabs at the American South and its strange ideas of family, its sexism, racism, and, especially, its homophobia."
ReviewPlays.com
- Recommended
"...McClure is wonderful as a high school "hunk" and is amazing in his ability to change as the play progresses. Though Thompson's fits of temper are ear-splitting and a bit nerve wracking, I guess one could expect it from a jealous sibling who is just showing her teenage culpability. And Montgomery is charming and sweet and makes one feel empathy for his character, what with the wonderful performance by Leslie as she derides him incessantly. The lovely Westmoreland home with its outdoor patio is the design of Robert Steinberg. There are moments of humor in this very well-written drama. But when you go to see it (and I recommend that you do), be certain to take your handkerchief."
