ACTING

2017

“A few of the other performers in director Desdemona Chiangʼs cast achieve similar heights, especially Patty Gallagher as simpleton Audrey and other comic parts. In her hands, clowning doesnʼt just give easy laughs; it becomes the showʼs sharpest tool for defining characters, relationships and situations.” San Francisco Chronical (posted by SFGate.com), Lily Janiak 

“…Patty Gallagher lights up the stage as the goofy shepherdess, Audrey.” San Francisco Examiner, Georgia Rowe 

“Patty Gallagher makes an amusing country companion for Touchstone as Audrey, who here is a very different and more grown up character than Shakespeareʼs original version, having been merged with the philosophical old shepherd Corin and having much of her wooing subplot (and the side characters that go along with it) omitted.” – San Jose Mercury News, Sam Hurwitt

HAMLET – SANTA CRUZ SHAKESPEARE

2016

“Patty Gallagherʼs Polonius is a comic revelation; she makes the clueless adviser to the king more like the wide-eyed nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz in “Bewitched”. - San Francisco Chronical (posted by SFGate.com), Lily Janiak

“… as Polonius, SCS veteran Patty Gallagher, effortlessly crafts a tour de force of interfering blabbery. Her portrayal embodies a terrific match of comedic skills and deft wordplay, illuminating the silliness of the unfortunate counselor and the scathing send-up Shakespeare intends. The switch in gender complicates (deliciously) the characterʼs myopia.” – The Good Times, Christina Waters

“Patty Gallagher (a performer whose work I consistently admire) brings a pathetic depth to Polonius that I have rarely seen. She seems less a silly old fool than a woman who is hopelessly double-bound by the responsibilities she is given and the disempowering standards of behavior to which she is held (restricted?) while trying to achieve them. Although Eastwood NorrisʼHamlet provided a very interesting resonance in the shadow of Hillary Clintonʼs achievement, Gallagherʼs Polonius was equally reminiscent in another way as we saw and judged her quite differently than we would a man in the same situation.” – Shakespeare’s Tribe (online), Kurt Daw

MASTER CLASS – JEWEL THEATRE COMPANY

2016

“Itʼs obvious that Gallagher has Callas down pat: her mannerisms, her shrugs, her heavily made-up eyes. And she speaks impeccable Italian. … But thatʼs a trifle because thereʼs no questioning her command of the role. In Act 2, she has a monologue where she contemplates the choices and mistakes she has made, some with heartbreaking outcomes.”  – Santa Cruz Sentinel, Joanne Engelhardt

“Callas herself— beautifully played con brio by Patty Gallagher—is onstage throughout to talk us through the passion conveyed in the words. And the way these words reflect the deep passions of La Callasʼlife, gradually revealed in brief moving monologues, drives the drama forward. … Into this low-key milieu strides Gallagherʼs imperious, larger-than-life Callas, exuding wry wit, banked fire, and disingenuous modesty. (“We are not here to talk about me,” she reminds us constantly.) From her very first entrance, she takes the audience into her confidence, addressing us throughout the play as if we were all students in the lecture hall auditing her class. She dispenses random advice (“Get a look!” she exhorts us, or “Donʼt act. Feel!”), and provides often waspish commentary on the students brave enough to meet her onstage. “- The Good Times, Lisa Jensen

“The show stands or falls on the performance of its lead actress in a role that makes punishing demands on high energy emotional acting, adroit comic timing and just plain extended word count. Patty Gallagher does a wonderful job. Sheʼs obviously younger and heaps more winsome than the aging Callas was in the years when her voice had lost its power and her opera career had collapsed. Gallagher wisely avoids the kind of clever physical imitation that can brighten up a revue sketch but distract and ultimately annoy in a full-length performance. Using her own impressive acting gifts, she probes under the surface of the characterʼs relentless ego and ruthless teaching tactics with an assurance that makes even some of the more questionable tricks and starts of McNallyʼs script seem convincing. … Gallagher is a delight to watch as she applies that principle. In a performance that is a seemingly endless round of talk and physical activity she moves with unerring power, grace and meaning.” – Performing Arts Monterey Bay, Philip Pearce