NEWS AND REVIEWS
Photo by Amber Wuttke
PHOTO EXCLUSIVE!
CHRISTMAS IN CHICAGO WITH "SINGIN' IN THE RAIN" STAR MELISSA VAN DER SCHYFF
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"Singin' in the Rain" stars Matthew Crowle, Melissa van der Schyff and Tony Yazbeck
Melissa as Lina Lamont
Photo by Brett Beiner
THE REVIEWS ARE OUT FOR MELISSA'S PERFORMANCE AS LINA LAMONT IN THE 2012/13 DRURY LANE THEATRE'S PRODUCTION OF "SINGIN' IN THE RAIN!"
DAN JAKES -TIME OUT CHICAGO:
"....in the charmingly self-pitying "What's Wrong with Me?," Melissa van der Schyff amusingly broadens screechy silent-screen diva Lina Lamont with some welcome and genuinely funny shades of Cyndi Lauper."
KATHY GUYER - CHICAGO examiner.com:
"Melissa van der Schyff gives an appropriately annoying, yet brilliantly sympathetic interpretation of the villainous, shrilled voiced and vain, Lina Lamont."
CHICAGOIST:
"Don Lockwood (Yazbeck) and Lina Lamont (the scene-stealing Melissa van der Schyff) are Hollywood royalty"
BRUCE INGRAM - THE DOINGS LA GRANGE (Sun-Times Publication):
"Melissa van der Schyff is another Broadway performer who comes close to stealing the show...."
HEDY WEISS - CHICAGO SUN-TIMES:
Melissa van der Schyff has her moment with "What's Wrong With Me"
PHIL POTEMPA - nwi.com:
"At her best, is actress Melissa van der Schyff as screeching starlet Lina Lamont, the role immortalized by Jean Hagen."
AROUND THE TOWN CHICAGO:
"....the sexy, lovely Lina Lamont (played by the lovely and sexy Melissa van der Schyff)"
TOM WILLIAMS - chicagocritic.com:
"....the terrific turn by Melissa van der Schyff"
DAN ZEFF - chicagolandtheaterreviews.com:
"The role was a hoot as played on the screen by Jean Hagen and Melissa van der Schyff delivers her own hilarious performance, shrill voice and nasty personality deliciously in place, at Drury Lane."
JUNE 5, 2012: NYMF'S "BABY CASE" TO FEATURE MELISSA VAN DER SCHYFF
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MAY 23, 2012: MELISSA VAN DER SCHYFF WILL STAR IN "FORECLOSURE" READING IN NYC
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MAY 14, 2012: MELISSA WAS NOMINATED FOR A 2012 OUTER CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD IN THE CATEGORY "OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL" FOR BONNIE & CLYDE
APRIL 27, 2012: MELISSA WAS NOMINATED FOR A 2012 DRAMA DESK AWARD IN THE CATEGORY "OUTSTANDING FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL" FOR BONNIE & CLYDE
Melissa with Claybourne Elder on the red carpet at the Drama Desk Awards - Photo by Tristan Fuge
THE CRITICS LOVED MELISSA'S PERFORMANCE IN THE 2011 BROADWAY PRODUCTION OF BONNIE AND CLYDE!
VARIETY:
.... giving a standout performance is
Melissa van der Schyff, singing and acting commandingly as Clyde's
sister-in-law Blanche.
NEW YORK TIMES:
.... the show's best song is a
slender, shimmering hymn to small and
ordinary pleasures, nicely performed by Melissa van der Schyff as
Blanche, the pious wife of Clyde's brother Buck.
NY 1 NEWS:
As Clyde's twangy, God-fearing
sister-in-law Blanche, Melissa Van Der Schyff stands out in a
terrifically quirky performance.
TIME OUT NEW YORK:
Melissa Van Der Schyff, as
goody-two-shoes outlaw in-law Blanche
Barrow .... is a wow
throughout, with a voice like a country stream.
BLAKE ROSS, PLAYBILL
MAGAZINE EDITOR - UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCES OF 2011
Amazing singing by some great new
talent, including: .... Melissa van der
Schyff singing “That’s What You Call A Dream” from Bonnie and Clyde ....
NEW YORK POST:
Melissa van der Schyff is terrific as
Clyde's sister-in-law.
MICHALL JEFFERS -
WomanAroundTown.com:
Melissa Van Der Schyff is the real
revelation to me. Her portrayal
of the well-meaning but somewhat dim Blanche Barrow is pitch perfect,
as is her sweet rendition of "That's What You Call A Dream." I'm
heartened that this wonderful actress has suddenly burst onto the
Broadway scene, after years of working in professional theater. She
brings the Southwestern twang that is otherwise all but missing in this
piece about Texas. If there's any justice, her performance is destined
to be an award winning turn.
USA TODAY:
.... Melissa Van Der Schyff, whose
limpid tone and sweetly trembling vibrato recall a young Dolly Parton.
NEWSDAY:
.... Melissa Van Der Schyff finds both eroticism and humor as his (Buck's) pious
wife.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS:
Dolly Parton soundalike Melissa Van
Der Schyff, who plays Buck's
gospel-spouting wife, Blanche, brings emotional complexity to what
could be just a joke of a role. Her duet with Bonnie, "You Love Who You
Love," is a sweet highlight.
AP WRITER MARK KENNEDY:
PUBLISHED IN THE BOSTON GLOBE (BOSTON),
THE REPUBLIC (COLUMBUS, INDIANA), SEATTLE TIMES, THE SAN FRANCISCO
CHRONICLE:
Some of the standouts in the
supporting cast include .... Melissa van
der Schyff as Blanche Barrow has the funny "You're Goin' Back to Jail"
ensemble song and the achingly pretty duet with Bonnie "You Love Who
You Love."
REX REED - NEW YORK OBSERVER:
.... a worthy showcase for a few professional
performers in leading roles who are vastly entertaining and amount to
nothing short of major discoveries
.... holding her own corner of the stage in every scene is Melissa Van
Der Schyff, a knockout belter .... She plays the sympathetic and pivotal
role of Blanche Barrow, the wife of Clyde's brother Buck and a woman
who sacrifices her ideals and self-respect for love, which won Estelle
Parsons an Oscar. She stops the show as a kind of operatic Dolly
Parton, while the audience begs for more.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY:
Melissa Van der Schyff .... has a
lovely second-act ballad, ''That's What You Call a Dream''
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER:
.... as doting, domineering Blanche, van der Schyff is delightful.
There's humor in the conflict of
Clyde's big brother Buck
(Claybourne Elder) and his God-fearing wife Blanche (Melissa van der
Schyff). Her henpecking insistence that he swear off crime and stay
away from no-good Clyde yields the show's most amusing number in
"You're Goin' Back to Jail," sung by van der Schyff with a gorgeous
Dolly Parton-esque warble ....
ARTS SARASOTA:
Melissa Van Der Schyff is a stand-out
once again as Blanche, who bring
lots of emotion and humor to her role, from her comical beauty shop
battle cry "You're Goin' Back to Jail" to her touching duet with Osnes
in "You Love Who You Love."
TIMES SQUARE CHRONICLES:
The stand out from this production is
Canadian Melissa van der Schyff who is wonderful as Blanche Barrow embodying the God fearing
wife of Buck Barrow. Completely different than Estelle Parsons, she
makes this role her own.
DC THEATRE SCENE:
.... there were moments that came
alive.... "You're Goin' Back
to Jail" .... is fun and
beautifully performed by the talented and incredibly named Melissa Van
Der Schyff ....
Claybourne Elder as Clyde's brother
Buck, Ms. Van Der Schyff as
his wife Blanche, and the rest of this fine company bring acting chops
and strong voices to lift the score and the book ....
PHILADELPHIA ENQUIRER:
Claybourne Elder and Melissa Van Der
Schyff, as Clyde's brother and
sister-in-law, not only sound great but show a real '30s presence -
people then would have called them each dolls.
NEW JERSEY NEWSROOM:
Often droll as the wet-blanket
Blanche, Melissa Van Der Schyff strikingly spikes her songs with a
Grand Old Opry vibrato.
BLOOMBERG.COM NEWS:
As Clyde's helpful brother and
reluctant sister-in-law, Claybourne
Elder and Melissa Van Der Schyff offer powerful vocal and dramatic
support.
BACKSTAGE:
The talented quartet of Jeremy
Jordan, Laura Osnes, Claybourne
Elder, and Melissa van der Schyff are Clyde, Bonnie, Clyde's aw-shucks
brother Buck, and his religious wife, Blanche. All four sing with lungs
of steel.
THEATRE MANIA:
Hobson and Van Der Schyff deliver
their numbers especially well.
THE FASTER TIMES:
.... "Bonnie & Clyde"
is .... a good
vehicle for some tremendous talent, especially the four leads, playing
Bonnie and Clyde, Buck and Blanche ....
STAGERUSH.com:
The No. 1 Reason To See Bonnie &
Clyde: Laura Osnes and Melissa
Van Der Schyff singing "You Love Who You Love"
.... the show's two female leads burst into three-dimensional passion
and pain in the song" You Love Who You Love." Osnes as Bonnie sings
with Melissa Van Der Schyff as Blanche about their love for their
misguided, troublesome men (Clyde and his brother Buck, respectively).
Wildhorn's country melody perfectly locks into place with the
actresses' voices as they examine the common sense of love and how such
a thing really doesn't exist. What elevates the song higher, however,
is Osnes and Van Der Schyff's creation of a staggeringly truthful
on-stage moment between these two women, who do not like each other,
but for this instant, understand one another on this fundamental level.
"You Love Who You Love" is pop-radio ready and will most likely become
the newest audition-song obsession for female musical theater majors
across the country.
Click Here to Discover How Harrison
Ford and Miles Davis Led Melissa to her Broadway Breakout in Bonnie
& Clyde!
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Click Here to Read about Broadway Scene Stealers in "Bonnie & Clyde"
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