Cara L. Reichel Director ~ Writer ~ Producer
P A S T P R O D U C T I O N S (NYC Premieres)
EINSTEIN'S DREAMS (2019)
*2020 Drama Desk Award Nominations for Music, Lyrics, Lighting, and Projections*
“Challengingly cerebral... a highly imaginative Prospect Theater Company staging by its gifted artistic director, Cara Reichel... Einstein’s Dreams, as per its unusual subject matter, is essentially nonlinear, its smooth path through time and space in perfect coordination with a stunningly attractive visual scheme… mesmerizing projections… magical lighting… picture perfect costumes.” — The Broadway Blog
THE HELLO GIRLS (2018)
*2019 Drama Desk Award Nominations for Music, Lyrics, Outstanding Musical*
“Filled with memorable songs and brilliant performances, it is a musical as triumphant as the true story on which it is based... Reichel's inventive staging holds the vasty fields of France between two upright pianos.… You're unlikely to see a more talented group of performers anywhere in New York... A joyous experience.”
— Theatermania
DEATH FOR FIVE VOICES (2016)
"Something entirely, excitingly new both for the musical theatre itself, and for this work's brilliant songwriter, Peter Mills... Mills' most stirring, shocking, and boundary-pushing compositions to date—as well as some of his finest... Reichel has provided a gripping, fluid staging that's an airtight match for the material... Death for Five Voices is thrillingly, theatrically alive.” — Talkin' Broadway
THE UNDERCLASSMAN (2014)
“A pre-Jazz Age cocktail — two parts Fitzgerald’s autobiographical novel, one part Fitzgerald’s actual biography, stirred with plenty of artistic license… Reichel’s production steps lively from song to song… Mills’ Porter-style pastiche tunes have jaunty rhythms and internal rhymes to spare… The 19 cast members deserve the summa cum laude.” ~ The New York Times
IRON CURTAIN (2011)
"Rarely do a talented (and well-cast) group of actors, an innovative creative team, and witty, well-written material land in the same theater at the same time. But Prospect Theater Company makes it look easy. Cara Reichel has meticulously helmed this hilarious throwback to the golden age of musicals, and the production and the work give hope for the fate of the American tuner." ~ Back Stage
ONCE UPON A TIME IN NEW JERSEY (2010)
"Reichel's direction is constantly inventive and fast-paced, and she uses Jen Price Fick's pricelessly adaptable set to comic perfection, moving her actors around in a constant flow of amusing movement… a theatrical fairy tale worth listening to (and watching) again and again." ~ Theatermania
"The director, Cara Reichel, and choreographer, Christine O’Grady, hit the sweet spot with their staging of two numbers, one an outlandish song featuring bastardized Italian lyrics and the transformation of deli products into a Venice canal scene." ~ The New York Times
GOLDEN BOY OF THE BLUE RIDGE (2009)
“Highly entertaining… The script, by Peter Mills and Cara Reichel, delivers smart satire with a dark backwoods accent... Reichel’s imaginative direction creates witty, eye-catching entrances and exits.” — The New York Times
“The accents may be hillbilly but don't be fooled; this is cleverly crafted, sophisticated fare. The book is by Mills and Cara Reichel, who is also responsible for the show's inspired direction. Both Mills and Reichel would seem to have talent to burn.” — Back Stage
ILLYRIA (2008)
"This high-spirited, utterly engaging musical adaptation of Twelfth Night is an intergenerational winner that deserves an unequivocal thumbs-up. Peter Mills and Cara Reichel, who adapted the show, have managed to do the near impossible. They have taken Shakespeare's comic masterpiece, kept its Elizabethan spirit, voice and wit, yet created a new, accessible work that brashly and, at times, poignantly speaks to contemporary musical theater." — The New York Times
THE ROCKAE (2007)
“The show simply rocks, making good on the premise that rock opera just might be the best way of conveying the intensity of Greek tragedy to a modern audience.” — The Village Voice
“Ingenious, energetic… Based on The Bacchae, The Rockae follows Euripides's original closely but adds its own spin… Cara Reichel's superbly directed production works very well indeed.” — offoffonline.com
THE FLOOD (2006)
“Reichel directs with confidence and force. She handles The Flood's thematic and practical challenges with ease, and stages the action with fierce, speedy precision. Her staging of the actual flood, in particular, is a simple but slyly executed bit of stagecraft that knocks one's socks off.” ~ NYTheatre.com
THE BOOK OF THE DUN COW (2006)
“An achievement on par with The Lion King for its gutsiness and sheer theatrical beauty… Reichel, who's made a name for herself collaborating with husband Peter Mills on more conventional musicals, has with The Book of the Dun Cow, come into her own as an artistic force to be reckoned with.” — Talkin’ Broadway
THE PURSUIT OF PERSEPHONE (2005)
“Anyone interested in the future of musical theatre should hightail it down to the East Village and catch Prospect Theater Company’s wonderful new production, The Pursuit of Persephone… Reichel’s fluid direction helps Persephone immensely. She knows exactly where both the physical and thematic focus of every scene is, and how to complement the main action with secondary action (as in large group scenes) without taking away from it. Her work here is marvelous.” — NYTheatre.com
THE ALCHEMISTS (2003)
“Regency England receives a fresh lease on life in the intriguing new musical The Alchemists. This literate, tuneful show revisits the era when Byron, Keats and Shelley flowered, and the unpredictability of romance and passion clashed with the strictures of religion and the logic of science… With a book by Peter Mills and Cara Reichel, the director, The Alchemists rewards anyone who likes a good old-fashioned tale and music to match.” — The New York Times