PRESS
​Broadway.com #LiveatFive
Stopping by Broadway.com HQ for an interview with #LiveatFive's Beth Stevens to discuss the Off-Broadway hit comedy, Drunk Shakespeare.
​PUCK MidSummer Night's Dream - ASC
“… But of the actors who make up this group — the fairies — the one who completely abducts the stage, the play and the very air around him is Michael Amendola as Puck. Like a rubberized Uncle Fester, Amendola scoots, bounces, gyrates and pratfalls around the stage while milking every nuance of every line for its maximum comic effect. It’s like he had rocket fuel for dinner and somebody lit a match near him. If his inspired lunacy doesn’t leave him breathless at the end of performances, it most certainly will have that effect on audiences.”
- Charles Culbertson, Staunton News Leader GO! Section
​CALIBAN The Tempest - Austin Shakespeare Festival

“The best parts of the show, however, revolves around the three best performers in the bunch, Trinculo the jester, played by Michael Dalmon, Stephano, the drunken butler, played by Nathan Jerkins and Caliban, played by Michael Amendola. Dalmon and Jerkins play off each other like a old vaudeville duo, squeezing every ounce of comedy from Shakespeare’s script, creating a miniature comic interlude in the middle of the magical high romance. Amendola steals the show, however, with his startling performance as Caliban, the deformed son of the island’s former ruler, Sycorax. He approaches each moment he's on stage with such a breath-taking intensity, reminiscent of Peter Jackson’s Gollum, while, at the same time, tugging on our heartstrings all the while, his eyes filled with a tenderness that you wouldn’t expect from a character that many write off as simply a villain.”
- Ryan E. Johnson, Austin Theatre Examiner
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“The greatest recommendation that can be made for this production is the work of its actors, especially Nathan Jerkins, Michael Dalmon, and Michael Amendola, as drunken Stephano, the jester Trinculo, and beastly Caliban. In a subplot that teasingly comments on Prospero's iron-fisted rule of his tiny island kingdom, these three men give the audience relentless, sharp physical comedy—and even better, their delivery of Shakespeare's text is so natural that the audience doesn't miss a beat.”
- www.austinist.com
“Caliban and company are the real entertainers of this piece. Michael Amendola as Caliban is elastic, resentful and credulous …Every moment these fellows spend upon the stage is a delight.”
- Michael Meigs, AustinLiveTheatre.com
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“Part of the charm of this show is the combination of actors Michael Amendola as the mystical creature "Caliban," Michael Dalmon as the court jester "Trinculo," and Nathan Jerkins as the royal butler "Stephano." Their teamwork in creating physical comedy of the play is second to none, and the chemistry between these actors is perfect.”
- Olin Meadows, AustinonStage.com
​GEORGE GIBBS Our Town - ZACH Theatre
“The actors approach their roles with gusto. Michael Amendola perfectly captures the earnest exuberance of youth. His sweet, slightly dorky portrayal of George is endearing.”
- Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, Austin-American Statesman
“The casting is excellent … Michael Amendola as boy-next-door George Gibbs has the cheery unselfconsciousness of the adolescent and young beau, and with his open, guileless face he does some wildly comic stares and double-takes.”
- Michael Meigs, AustinLiveTheatre.com
​AIDAN Intermission - Cambiare Productions
“Some of the best material can be credited to Michael Amendola, who plays Aidan. Providing the most comic relief, all-thumbs Aidan persistently hits on a girl who persistently pushes him away. Amendola owns the role, taking it where he wants to: improvising lines, stealing the scene during one of Perez's numbers, and even making the members in the band laugh. This scene that offers no backstory or complicated history lends more to the "play" than any of the melodrama.”
- Patti Hadad, Austin Chronicle
