“Director Robert Tolaro tries to add Lorca’s voice back into the production through some brilliant staging. His use of a flamenco dancer (the stunning and intense Hannah Marie Fonder) who pushes the characters towards their inevitably violent end is a smart choice which would surely get Lorca’s stamp of approval. Tolaro’s methodical pacing, especially the scene changes performed by the cast with slow precision, adds to the idea that these characters are gradually moving towards their inescapable fate.
“In his staging, director Robert Tolaro melds the worlds of song, dance, and scene with an impressive fluidity, and his actors commit to the flamenco-style glue that binds these elements together with wholehearted zest. Senior Hannah Marie Fonder deserves special note for her masterfully nuanced personification of death that forebodes throughout the evening. If great art depends upon a vivid awareness of death, Fonder’s performance as its harbinger contributes mightily to this production’s success.
“The eligible young ladies offer another finely modulated pair. Hannah Marie Fonder as Gwendolyn has the precisely controlled chill of the very best of society, and her ice-cream elegance plays well against Sophia Franzella as Cecily, the energetic young brunette on the estate who’s bored with her German lessons and eminently ready to escape if only a suitor should come calling.
“Jon Richardson and Josean Rodriguez (as Jack and Algernon, respectively) bound with youthful energy as they orchestrate their mischievous schemes, and Gwendolen and Cecily – the objects of their desires – are rendered with just the right Victorian overtones by Hannah Marie Fonder and Sophia Franzella.
“One of the things that made this show so incredible was the choreography by Danny Herman and Rocker Verastique, who have seemingly taken over the Austin theatre community - and for good reason. The revamped and updated “Dream Ballet” was one of the best and most-moving dance performances I have seen in the Austin area - and that includes the professional dance companies. The real star of that scene would have to be, hands down, Hannah Marie Fonder, who danced the role of “Louisa,” the child of Billy and Julie.
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— http://austinonstage.com/carouselreview
“The culmination comes as Billy looks on from the afterlife, in a lengthy sequence featuring his 15-year-old daughter Louise, whom he has never seen before. Hannah Marie Fonder plays Louise as a feisty little thing while dancing with the other kids. Then she partners with Kyle Housworth, a boy from the carnival, for an throbbing, exhilarating extended pas de deux that reinforces the message that life goes on, bursting forth in every new generation.
“Measure is blessed with some stellar performances, especially Fonder’s Isabella; she glows with sincerity and is a natural with the play’s tough verse.
““And as Isabella, Hanna Marie Fonder proves to be a fantastic heroine. She is strong-willed and smart and unwavering in her protection of both her virtue and the life of her brother.”
“Representation of the now was the show’s only weakness; a brief encounter with a young blogger seemed out of place among scenes such as baseballers singing “The Best Is Yet to Come” or a Fifties-style guide to a first date with the most inventive stage kiss ever, courtesy of Hannah Marie Fonder and Matthew Garcia.
“Jake’s sister Sally (Hannah Marie Fonder) witnesses this and struggles against it. Of the characters onstage, she’s closest to normal in the middle-American corn-fed sense. Even so, there’s a disquieting sense in her dialogues with the mad Jake. Jake can’t differentiate between sister and wife, and we’re goaded by the threat that the scene will tip either into violence or into incest.
“Madison Piner’s choreography keeps the energy up and the chorus of lambs on their toes, and Hannah Marie Fonder (Dream Clarice/Lamb) deserves particular recognition for enthusiastically completing some decidedly awkward dance moves.”
“Footage of thousands of butterflies nestled against trees and released in the air acts as backdrop to the graceful movement of the cast of dancers, all dressed in black except for the Young Girl (Hannah Marie Fonder), flouncy dress and wide-eyed innocence conveying her sense of wonder. Fonder dances her part with commitment and impressive athleticism, achieving great heights on her many lifts and embodying a genuinely believable child.”
