"A piece that cries out for simplicity and gets digital distraction instead. Oh, Mariner, those overly literal visual aids fight you for our attention at every turn, breaking the mood in the bargain...It all registers as a lot of visual noise. The sound design is not quite as obtrusive, but it, too, is part of a layering that suggests that the director doesn’t trust the script. As for Mr. Evett, he is best when the production leans on him, not on design."
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“A gripping one-man show…’Albatross’ is an exciting and dramatic portrayal of a mariner's extensive journey…Benjamin Evett's solo performance as the mariner is stunning as he captures the drama, tension, and occasional humor of the show. He masters the physically and emotionally demanding role…The creative team has done a wonderful job of bringing ‘Albatross’ to the stage…’Albatross’ is a riveting and affecting theatrical piece that you will long remember.”
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“Evett is a powerful presence with oceans of technique at his disposal, but his performance would be infinitely better if he cut the intensity level by at least thirty percent...His full-throated, aim-for-the-balcony approach becomes wearying, then assaultive…'Albatross' seems to exist entirely to give its leading man a workout—and the result is something of an ordeal for the audience. All the additional detail only has the effect of making one appreciate how neatly Coleridge told his tale."
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"Visually rich for a drama featuring only one actor...The play quotes Coleridge's verse and its antiquated language, but most of the text is lively prose that's easy to follow and accessible to the contemporary ear...As a performer, Evett has no difficulty holding spectators' attention for the play's 85 minutes. His high energy never flags; his demeanor is at once dauntless and natural...At certain points, the theatrics and the molto agitato tempo are more distraction than enhancement."
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"Matthew Spangler and Benjamin Evett have turned this very long story poem into a fascinating drama featuring Mr. Evett as the narrator, the mariner and every other character. As directed by Rick Lombardo, this 'Albatross' is uneven in its storytelling, but still totally involving, mostly due to Evett's tireless performance. This dramatization of the famous, previously much maligned poem, strips away the clichés and finds its dramatic heart."
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"Matthew Spangler and Benjamin Evett’s script revives Coleridge's ancient poetry and makes this 18th-century stock character relevant. With humanity’s negative impact on nature and cruelty to animals, the Mariner’s story deserves even more urgent attention...My one critique concerns the projections, which become more of a distraction than an enhancement...Yet they ultimately do not prevent 'The Albatross' from being a stirring production centered around a masterful performance."
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"The venture becomes muddled, beginning as something of a parody and ending as a fairly faithful adaptation of its source material...Evett is fully equipped to hold us at attention throughout...His stamina and consistency as a performer are tested by the script’s inability to decide what it wants to do with the mariner’s story...Whether intended or not, it doesn’t come close to capturing the terror of reading Coleridge’s poem silently."
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"The corn in the husk, Evett‘s acting, coupled with some dramatically psychedelic effects, offers a number of niblets to nibble on throughout. The problem is the husk. The lumbering exposition that takes up so much of the play adds little of any substance to the figure of the Mariner...'The Albatross' doesn’t really interpret Coleridge’s poem or engage with it in a meaningful, personal way; it more or less just adds a lot of unnecessary fat to the haunting skeleton of the source material."
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