Selected Critical Raves (see also Hollis' 2006-2007 Season)

Mark McCarthy

as Ivan in THE SEAFARER, by Conor McPherson, directed by Brendan Burke at Shadowland Theatre.

"Ivan (played with delicious detail by Mark McCarthy)...has really created such a delicious character whose body language is filled with energy... The acting is superb. I really couldn't imagine a better cast" —Catskill Chronicle

"Winning performances by all five players under the fine direction of Brendan Burke could not have been better." —Times Herald Record

Hollis McCarthy

as Mrs. Woolsey in
Florida Studio Theatre's
Ghost-Writer
by Michael Hollinger, directed by Kate Alexander.

"Vivian Woolsey, the writer's wife, is brought to life with a dead-on performance by Hollis McCarthy." — Pelican Press

"Fine performances also from... McCarthy. Her wounded widow character is an accusation: Are you for real? Great theater. See it." — Critic on the Run
"McCarthy...had me empathizing with her — Sarasota Magazine

"Hollis McCarthy is far more interesting as his condescending and jealous wife." — Herald-Tribune

"'Sylvia' at Delaware Theatre,
a dog lover's delight
— Philadelphia Inquirer

"'Sylvia' is a howl
at DE Theatre Company"
— Stage Magazine

...a warm-hearted near-masterpiece.
...spot on, as is McCarthy's Kate,
clearly the play's
biggest acting challenge --
not being a shrewish caricature."
— News Journal

photo of Hollis as Kate, at right, by Matt Urban

Hollis McCarthy

as Kate in A.R. Gurney's Sylvia,
directed by David Stradley,
at the Deleware Theatre Center.

Hollis McCarthy as Emma in Harold Pinter's Betrayal

directed by Terence Lamude,
with Tim Deenihan and Tim Smallwood, at Albany's Capital Rep.

"90 minutes of fascinating theater...a trio of actors who create complex characters and who can play on multiple emotional levels.

... Emma is the critical figure in the play. Hollis McCarthy is able to make [us] care about the woman even as we see her flaws."

—The Record

(photos by Joe Schuyler)

"The acting is on the money. Intensely focused, intimate and sublimely subtle... a rich and rewarding evening of theater."

—Nippertown

"Hollis McCarthy...dives deep into character... with a twitching, nervous energy that cuts close to the bone. "

—Times Union

"McCarthy is at her vulnerable best..."

—Daily Gazette

Hollis McCarthy as Marie Wallace in Cornelia

by Mark V. Olsen,
directed by Ethan McSweeny,
at the Old Globe Theatre.

"Novice legit scribe Mark Victor Olsen (TV's "Big Love") is on to something in envisioning a potent play in the lives and careers of Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace (Robert Foxworth, left) and his trophy second wife. Strong acting and narrative surprise provide plenty of entertainment ...in an ironing-board chat with sister-in-law Marie (Hollis McCarthy, precise and fine), who defiantly testifies for poor Lurleen in the face of the widower's indifference." —Variety

"Hollis McCarthy...and (Melinda Page) Hamilton (right) have one of the show's best scenes, a heart-to-heart girl talk about men and the attraction of love." —Theatre Mania

"The cast is small...Hollis McCarthy as Gerald's sex-starved wife, Marie, who becomes a female shoulder for Cornelia to cry on. Ethan McSweeny expertly corrals their talents in his vividly acted production." —L.A. Times

"Cornelia is like Gone With the Wind gone to tragicomic seed...in its smart and sometimes audacious way, Cornelia gets at plenty of funny and uncomfortable truths about love and politics...performed with heaps of suthun style by the five-member cast. Hollis McCarthy plays his long-suffering wife with a primness that warms nicely to second-act sympathy for Cornelia." —San Diego Union-Tribune (CRITIC'S CHOICE)

MARK McCARTHY
as Ben Hecht in
MOONLIGHT & MAGNOLIAS

a comedy by Ron Hutchinson,
directed by David Perkovich,
at the Illinois Theater Center.

"Side-splitting satire...terrific comic pacing....the highlight portrayal is that of Mark McCarthy as Ben Hecht. McCarthy's look of disbelief and his understated delivery makes him a very convincing Hecht. The scene in which he can't get over the colossal story ending with "After all, tomorrow is another day" is a laugh riot." —Southtown Star

Hollis McCarthy in Alabama Shakespeare's COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO

"Charles Morey's... version is an impeccably solid piece of theatrical work, and ASF is performing it so vividly that I ended up finding the whole thing thrilling from swash to buckle." —Wall Street Journal

"Hollis McCarthy's despicable Heloise de Villefort is frighteningly brutal and a fine match for her husband..." —Montgomery Advertiser

MARK McCARTHY
as
Dr. Watson
in the World Premiere of
SHERLOCK HOLMES:
THE FINAL TOAST,

nominated for best supporting actor
at the
International Mystery Writers' Festival.

Hollis as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing
Colorado Shakespeare Fest

(nominated for a Best Actress in a Comedy Denver Post Ovation Award)

* * * ½ (out of 4 stars) "...turning Much Ado into, of all things, a spaghetti-western farce...works right from the first gunshot"

"The spitfire heroine Beatrice (the incomparable Hollis McCarthy) is a bar manager modeled after every hardened and hard-talking Western films madam with a heart o'gold."

"McCarthy is beguiling..." —Denver Post

"The evening centers on the actors, and they are top-notch. ...Hollis McCarthy makes a wonderful Beatrice, a vibrant concoction of vinegar and honey." —Colorado Daily

"Hollis McCarthy possesses a Katharine Hepburn-ish intelligence and dignity as Beatrice..." —Westword

Mark as Bob Acres in The Rivals,
Portland Center Stage,
Denver Center Theatre Co.

"...standouts include a great physical comedian Mark McCarthy as 'Fighting Bob Acres'... —Our Town

"Brady and McCarthy are show-stoppingly funny." —The Daily Camera

"The comic performances of Mark McCarthy...are sure-fired swaggering comic treasures." —David Marlowe, Out Front

"McCarthy...turns in crackling comic performances. McCarthy's Bob Acres is a broad figure of fun, loaded with curious mannerisms of voice and body... Mark McCarthy displays comic brilliance as Fighting Bob Acres in The Rivals..." —The Portland Oregonian

Mark as Georgie in King O'the Moon at the Mercury Theatre, Chicago

"As the mentally retarded Georgie, Mark McCarthy is astoundingly, convincingly believable." —Press Publications of Northeast DuPage

"Many in the cast are terrific...there's splendid character work from the likes of Mark McCarthy." —Chicago Tribune

"...Georgie (a terrific Mark McCarthy), the youngest son who is mentally disabled." —Star Newspapers

"Their mentally retarded brother Georgie (played with goofy charm by Mark McCarthy)..." —Chicago Sun Times

Hollis as Barbara in Things We Do For Love, Organic Theatre, Chicago

"Things We Do For Love is flat-out funny from start to finish... Hollis McCarthy is a terrific Barbara, crisply efficient one minute, blushing and coy the next." —Pioneer Press

Landlady Barbara (Hollis McCarthy) is an attractive but lonely soul. ...two very strong and funny women who form the core of this cast... offers a savvy and entertaining production. ...given the palpable craft on display, terrific actors like McCarthy..." —The Chicago Tribune

"...particularly Hollis McCarthy...does an admirable job of giving Ayckbourn's sterotypes an emotional background." —The Chicago Reader