A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller
Long Wharf Theatre (New Haven, CT)
“This could be the most arresting production of this problematic work I’ve seen in a lifetime of views from various bridges.”
— Bob Verini, New York Stage Review
“James Dean Palmer’s first-rate direction makes this story as powerful now as it was in 1955. Miller would have found complete satisfaction in this production.”
— Sherry Shameer Cohen, Broadway World
“A strong, thought-through, artfully enveloping production of a play that in most other productions is stagebound and shouty.”
— Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant
“All the acting, under the assured direction of James Dean Palmer, is splendid, with leading man Fumusa’s dominant performance seething with repressed passion and fury.”
— Tom Helohan, Connecticut Critics Circle
Awards: Winner of three Connecticut Critics Circle Awards, including Outstanding Direction of a Play.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, adapted by James Dean Palmer
Trinity Repertory Company (Providence, RI)
“Creative genius! Simultaneously traditional and modern and very, very well done. It is like no other version ever created, for all the right reasons."
— Susan McDonald, The Providence Journal
"The mother of reinvention! We couldn't wait to see what would come next. Leaves us feeling as exuberant as Scrooge when he wakes up on Christmas Day."
— Kathie Raleigh, The Sun Chronicle
"Outstanding! One of Trinity's most unique and intriguing Yuletide offerings to date. James Dean Palmer provides that steady hand."
— Veronica Bruscini, Broadway World
"Awash in great good humor, brimming with original and interesting tweaks and turns, enough to make us fall in love with the piece once again. This Carol is a bright theatrical bulb."
— Rich Fahey, On Boston Stages
“Wondrous! One of the best things about the season, especially needed during a tumultuous time in our country. A tradition you won't want to miss!"
— Will Demers, Edge Media Network
"The ultimate salve for any wound, a story of transformation from hate and bitterness to love and charity. A Christmas Carol reminds us, there has always been and will always be, hope."
— Grace Kelly, RI Monthly
The Love of the Nightingale by Timberlake Wertenbaker
Red Tape Theatre (Chicago, IL)
“A helluva performance! Fully immersive, hyper-stylized theatricality.”
— Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune
“Palmer’s production is stunning, with images and scenes of immense power and thrilling theatricality.”
— Zev Valancy, CenterStage
“Palmer and his cast explode the story into life. Bizarre, refreshing, and remarkably resonant. ”
— Barry Eitel, Chicago Theatre Blog
Awards: Winner of the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Direction; nominated for Best Play.
Sense and Sensibility by Kate Hamill
FSU/Asolo Repertory Theatre (Sarasota, FL)
"A rollicking good time! With delightful visual surprises provided by director James Dean Palmer. A rousing spirit!"
— Jay Handleman, Herald Tribune
"Director James Dean Palmer kicks Hamill’s farce into overdrive. Thanks to Palmer’s direction, the audience alternates between belly laughs and sobs. All this madly creative genre-bending, gender-bending, and rule-breaking, adds up to a very funny play."
— Marty Fugate, Your Observer
HAMLET (at home) by William Shakespeare, adapted by James Dean Palmer
Gallery Players (New York, NY)
"Directors James Dean Palmer and Myah Shein took the show online with an all-female variant of Hamlet, and created perhaps the single most visually exciting production of the coronavirus era in 2020. Fronted by the debuting and dazzling artist Eliana Rowe as Hamlet, it was one of the shows that I not only was amazed by, but had to watch more than once."
— Rodney Hakim, New York Shakespeare Year In Review 2020
King John by William Shakespeare
The Texas Shakespeare Festival (Kilgore, TX)
"An unexpected gem! The Texas Shakespeare Festival’s ‘King John’ shines brilliantly. Fast-paced with dynamic performances throughout. Its exploration of the absurd pitfalls of political maneuvering seems to be more resonant every day."
— Andy Coughlan, English With A Bit of Texas
These Seven Sicknesses by Sean Graney
Brown/Trinity Repertory Theatre (Providence, RI)
"A brilliant production. Palmer and Scenic Designer Deb O ingeniously recreate the space. Precise direction. A theater event this daring and of this caliber comes along only once in a great while and can only be described as extraordinary. To miss this remarkable opportunity would be... well, a real tragedy."
— Christopher Verleger, Edge Media Network
The Tempest by William Shakespeare
Gallery Players (New York, NY)
"A vibrant commitment to inclusive casting and deeply conscious of each of these aspects of identity."
— Dan Rubins, theasy.com
Lear by Young Jean Lee
Red Tape Theatre (Chicago, IL)
“Four Stars! Unconventional, provocative, breathtaking. Lear will have resonance for, oh, everybody!”
— Kris Vire, Time Out Chicago
Arcadia by Tom Stoppard
FSU/Asolo Conservatory MFA (Sarasota, FL)
“Under the direction of James Dean Palmer the actors inhabit their worlds with passion, bringing their characters to vivid, colorful life.”
— Jay Kipling, Sarasota Magazine
"Director James Dean Palmer successfully keeps Stoppard’s intellectual and emotional plates spinning in the air — with no breakage at all.”
— Marty Fugate, Your Observer
"Palmer clarifies passages of philosophical, literary, mathematical and scientific theory with glances, gestures and a truly human response”
— Maureen Martin, Herald Tribune
Ruby Wilder by Brooke Allen
Tympanic Theatre Company (Chicago, IL)
“Highly Recommended! Every element of James Palmer's brilliantly staged, terrifying Tympanic Theatre Company production amps up the tension. ”
— Jack Helbig, Chicago Reader
“A whirlwind with a chill that will be hard to shake as you exit into the brisk autumn darkness”
— Clint May, Chicago Critic
“One of those rare productions where a fantastic cast and a fantastic script come together.”
— Anuja Vaidya, Chicago Theater Beat
Elephant’s Graveyard by George Brandt
Red Tape Theatre (Chicago, IL)
Four Stars and Show of the Week
— Kris Vire, Time Out Chicago
“Death-defying marvel of a real-life circus!”
— Katy Walsh, Chicago Theatre Beat
“Never breaks its spell! Won’t be soon forgotten."
— Lawrence Bommer, Chicago Stage Style
Church and Pullman, WA by Young Jean Lee
Red Tape Theatre (Chicago, IL)
“An arresting evening of theater!”
— Kerry Reid, Chicago Tribune
“Two dazzling one-acts! Funny, sad, strange and ultimately, unexpectedly uplifting”
— Zac Thompson, Chicago Reader
“Challenging, curious, free of artifice and utterly disarming!”
— Kris Vire, Time Out Chicago
“Smartly directed, highly immersive”
— Chicago Theatre Addict
Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Robert Oakes
Red Tape Theatre (Chicago, IL)
“Top-notch! Palmer masterfully uses the space to prevent audiences from just being casual viewers. Powerful and timely!”
— Scott Morgan, Windy City Times