Iron Age Theatre has created a powerful production of Tennessee Williams' 1961 drama The Night of the Iguana, a play overshadowed by his earlier successes and, perhaps, ahead of its time for its frank discussions of sex and faith.
This streamlined staging by directors and designers Randall Wise and John Doyle shows that it's a play still worthy of consideration.
Epp's delicate performance as Hannah provides a counterpoint to Gaimpetro's angry Shannon. Their intimate conversation makes what earlier had been a loud play full of action into an experience much more thoughtful and spiritual.
Wise and Doyle's handsomely detailed and spacious hotel veranda set takes up half of the Montgomery County Cultural Center's fourth floor, with bold lighting and sound effects. But the strong, active performances of a capable ensemble eventually give way to the intimate struggle between Hannah and Maxine for Shannon's soul. The sad yet fitting resolution leaves much to ponder.
Mark Kofta
Main Line Times

Indeed, The Night of the Iguana as put forward by Iron Age Theatre and the Montgomery County Cultural Center is a night that is impossible to forget.
Nonno, "our oldest living poet" enjoys his charmingly affable position as reciter of minor verse, between unplanned naps and his mumbling attempts to complete his last, best bit of rhyme. Dura captures Nonno's gentlemanly manners, his frailty and poor eyesight, as well as his slightly perplexed view of a world's eagerness to compensate a poet long bereft of thought for his swan-songs.
An equally self-assured player of whatever fate sends her way is earth-mother Maxine, welcoming her many pleasures without angst or regret. Baird's sly wink of a portrayal is surely the weight that keeps the play anchored.
As the jagged bundle of nerves at the center of the play, Giampetro is an explosive bundle of neurological fireworks, threatening to spark off in whatever direction we least expect him to. His flailing outbursts, ironically, allow us a better glimpse of the seething undercurrent of torment that drives the entire subtext of Williams' plot.
Williams has dictated that his "Night" consume nearly three hours; but, thanks to the mighty Iron Age work ethic, it exudes an intense, timeless energy that never falters for a second.
Gary Puleo
Timer Herald

Iron Age Theater is a company with an ear for good writing. It demonstrates this again with its production of Night of the Iguana.
The ability to recognize good writing is of some consequence to this company.
Directors/producers John Doyle and Randy Wise to convey their honest faith in the script to their actors.
Iron Age shows have a sense of pride about them. By taking their workman's approach to their projects Doyle and Wise give their productions a patina of pride, a sheen of satisfaction in a job well done.
Giampetro gives a clear, unambiguous, reading that demonstrates a nuanced understanding of Shannon's crises. It is an impressive per-formance by a man probably 10 years younger; and consequently much less experienced than the one Williams had in mind in his script.
Irene Baird delivers a brave interpretation of Maxine, the owner of a Mexican resort hotel located just south of Acapulco. Maxine, in the parlance of the mid-20th century when this place is set, is a broad. While her clothing is revealing, it's her desires that are nakedly displayed. Maxine is a woman more comfortable in the world of men than in the world of women. Baird succeeds in her portrait of Maxine. Maxine's jealousy is the result of vanity but on the rickety scaffolding of insecurity.
Theresa Epp brings a wise, naive innocence to the role. She seems to capture the quality Williams sought to imbue in Hannah.
This piece remains better written and more insightful than most plays written since.
Jim McCaffrey
Main Line Life

Shannon learns to live beyond despair in the lengthy final scene between him and Hanna, a peripatetic spinster painter who is staying at the hotel. Humane, moving and poetic, it is not only the best scene in the play but actually one of the best Williams wrote - and that is very good indeed. It is also by far the best-realized sequence in this production and well worth experiencing... The final scene works because it belongs to Hanna, and in her very appealing portrayal, Theresa Epp conveys the wisdom, kindness, sensativity, and quiet resolve to this complex character. ...the actors ... offer animated complicated performances....
Doug Keating
The Philadelphia Inquirer

The audience related to "end of the rope" momentsof actors at their finest under the skillful direction of John Doyle (and Randall Wise).
The lighting techniques by Jamie Knobler were integral to the smooth flow and the live Iguana handled by Pedro (Mario Cotto) added a breathtaking reality to the play.
Corinne Weather
ARCADE

Directors Randall Wise and John Doyle manage to effectively convey the repressed sexual energy among the diverse group.
Cooper Robb
Philadelpha Weekly