AN INSPECTOR CALLS . CITY LIGHTS . 2024
"I was blown away by the production. It all starts with the direction and the cast and acting. The lighting was also brilliant. The story is something we all need to pay attention to. Live theater is the greatest art we have in my humble opinion. And a good folks at City Lights are offering it up to us . . . spectacularly."
-- Richard Popchak
"City Lights Theater Company's production of J.B. Priestley's classic take-down of the shallow upper-crust packs a punch. What director Mark Anderson Phillips creates well is mood. Phillips goes to great pains to create this odd, cruel world where empathic forces aren’t part of this family’s worldview. The established chill begins to dissipate as the story moves forward, Phillips accentuating the thrill of the text mightily."
-- David John Chavez, San Jose Mercury News
"[D]istinctive and ultimately satisfying. Mark Anderson Phillips directs and has assembled creative elements that enhance the narrative."
-- Victor Cordell, Talkin’ Broadway
THE GAME'S AFOOT OR HOLMES FOR THE HOLIDAYS . CITY LIGHTS . 2023
"Murder, mystery and madcap mayhem are all brought forth with shimmering glee within director Mark Anderson Phillips’ purposeful staging."
-- David John Chavez, San Jose Mercury News
KINKY BOOTS . CITY LIGHTS . 2023
"Lots of high-octane performances guided by directors Lisa Mallette and Mark Anderson Phillips, shaking the old theater space in downtown San Jose to the studs. “Kinky Boots” is a surefire summer hit that grabs hold of the audience, especially in the wild finale, with radiant, transcendent joy and squeezes away whatever cynicism anyone may possess."
— David John Chávez, San Jose Mercury News
"A production bursting at the seams with as much — or maybe even more — joy, heart and ecstasy as the original, big-stage version. With a cast of twenty-three who can sing and dance like nobody's business, City Lights has a summertime hit that is a must see, with a message of love and acceptance that needs to be heard, now more than ever."
— Eddie Reynolds, Talkin’ Broadway
"Seeing Kinky Boots at City Lights Theater in San Jose is a little like witnessing a 2½-hour earthquake: It’s guaranteed to shake you right down to your boots, shoes, slippers or whatever else you’re currently wearing on your feet. Here’s a tip: Just sit back and enjoy an evening of fun, entertainment and song."
— Joanne Engelhardt, Aisle Seat Review
BLITHE SPIRIT . CITY LIGHTS . 2023
"A fantastically directed, hilariously performed “Blithe Spirit” . . . It’s a don’t-miss production. What ensures that this cast's talents are reaped every minute is the comic genius of director Mark Anderson Phillips. So many little touches that add up to major laughs are clearly a director's inspiration."
— Eddie Reynolds, Talkin' Broadway
"City Lights has produced a sparkling rendition that hits the mark on every measure. Mark Anderson Phillips directs, and he ensures that all of the pieces work. Individual performances are vivid and the interactions timely with the humor landing as intended. The whole of the wide stage is used to great effect. All of the creative elements are rock solid."
— Vic Cordell, cordellreports.com
"The company’s production, directed with broad, comic strokes by Mark Anderson Phillips, keeps the action rolling. The magic of the play is actual magic. That mystique begins with the sèance table and concludes with the set’s phenomenal commitment to storytelling, making the play’s conclusion pop with evocative glee. Phillips stewards smooth staging that lives on a set awash in stirring scenic detail, ensuring that invisibility rules as chaos ensues."
— David John Chavez, San Jose Mercury News
SILENT SKY . CITY LIGHTS . 2019
“It’s a luminous play, touching and stirring and funny in all the right places, and director Mark Anderson Phillips and the pitch-perfect cast bring out all those aspects beautifully. If you want to kindle a sense of wonder or nurture an interest in science or the arts or the vast universe in which we dwell, you could do a lot worse than to behold this Silent Sky.”
-Sam Hurwitt, The Mercury News
"One of the San Francisco Bay Area’s best directors, Mark Anderson Phillips, and a powerful cast make real the heart and the meaning of Gunderson’s script, which is the story of astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt.... Anderson Phillips, as an actor, is known for total commitment to every role he plays. When he steps on stage, he leaves himself behind, and becomes whatever his role demands him to be. He has helped the five fine actors of this cast to do the same. Bravura work."
- John Orr, Regarding Arts
"Actor and now often director Mark Anderson Phillips returns to City Lights to direct Silent Sky with an ability to teach us some important history while ensuring the personalities and dilemmas never seem so outdated that we cannot relate, empathize and learn. He makes full use of the spectacular set designed by Ron Gasparinetti with its sloping ramp, stairs, multiple levels and rooms in cherry-colored wood as well as a skeletal hint of the observatory dome under a massive backdrop sky. "
- Eddie Reynolds, Talkin' Broadway
THE SIEGEL . CITY LIGHTS . 2018
"A popcorn-paced, fun and funny, smartly designed and directed production at City Lights Theater Company. Mark Anderson Phillips directs Michael Mitnick's gem with an astute eye to allow each actor to develop as a unique piece of this interlocking puzzle. What is particularly strong in his direction and the script itself is that each of the many scenes has a definite beginning, middle, and end – almost as if independent vignettes have been pieced together to flow into what turns out to be one, overall story."
-- Eddie Reynolds, Talkin' Broadway
"The Siegel is fast paced and fun, with jokes flying so fast you can barely catch them all. But most importantly, the show has a lot of heart. It can be difficult to craft a show that is both genuinely funny and moving. A combination of great acting, solid directing by Mark Anderson Phillips and a fabulous script by Michael Mitnick make this a show you won’t want to miss."
-- Alexandra Garfield, Theater by the Bay
IDEATION . CITY LIGHTS . 2017
"Darkly comedic... sharply directed by Mark Anderson Phillips... The team in the play is a close-knit group of collaborators that work together like a well-oiled machine... keeping the tension high and mounting throughout...The dread and paranoia grow to a fever pitch..."
-- Sam Hurwitt, San Jose Mercury News
"A fast-paced, dark comedy addressing the notion of powerful people making decisions that directly change the world. Directed by Mark Anderson Phillips, the cast does an excellent job of balancing nervous hilarity with serious debate."
-- Benjamin Siepak, Metroactive
"Directed by Mark Anderson Phillips, the play is thought-provoking, devilishly dark, and infuriating (because most of the answers never come), but also funny."
-- Darshana Varia Nadkarni
"Director Mark Anderson Phillips brings intimate knowledge and terrific insight and imagination into this City Lights production. To carry out both his sometimes silly, often darkly comic inspirations as well as a mounting air of threatening foreboding that he weaves masterfully from Aaron Loeb's brilliant script, this director is blessed with a cast well suited for the undertaking."
-- Eddie Reynolds, Talkin' Broadway
"A harrowing indictment of corporate culture. This is an office meeting you want to go to."
-- Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle
VANYA & SONIA & MASHA & SPIKE . CENTER REP . 2015
“Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at Center REP is an amazingly pleasurable experience in every imaginable way. A delightful celebration of self-loathing, bitterness, low self-esteem, and longing for the return of a dying culture.”
-- Sheldon Haun, Showmag.com
“Fast-paced, hilarious, yet poignant.”
-- Sally Hogarty, Contra Costa Times
“The production is shot through with astute performances.”
-- Karen D'Souza, San Jose Mercury News
“A fantastic production and absolutely hilarious.”
-- Donald White on Goldstar.com
“Genuine, funny, effortless, beautiful set, great music, perfect casting, wonderful comedic direction by Mark Anderson Phillips -- even in comedy there can be such truths!”
-- Lori Erokan on Facebook
“Comedy delivered in a highly entertaining style ... a fun, brazen, intriguing play, directed by Mark Anderson Phillips.“Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play, and continues its relevancy.”
-- Jan Miller, Joint Forces Journal
DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE . CITY LIGHTS . 2015
“If there was such a thing as a black diamond — cut, polished and beautiful — that is what we could call the City Lights production of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Directed by Mark Anderson Phillips, there is no part of this show that is not fascinating and excellent. At its best moments, it is electrifying.”
-- John Orr, Regarding Arts
“The ensuing battle draws more innocents unknowingly into its folds with the tension and pace of horrifying events steadily mounting... Powerful direction by Mark Anderson Phillips...”
-- Eddie Reynolds, Talkin' Broadway
“Stylish atmosphere and exuberant performances that will get you in the mood for the dark spirit of Halloween. Phillips punctuates the piece with eerie tableaus and chilling moments. The production is shot through with sly touches that keep us entranced by the strange case of a soul divided. “
-- Karen d'Souza, San Jose Mercury News
“Intimate, fresh, innovative, psychologically captivating, superbly produced theater.”
-- Team San Jose
“What a production! it is an experience that keeps you transfixed and unaware you've been holding your breath until the haunting ending.”
-- Retablos [via Facebook]
“The cast was outstanding. The end left me with chills. I live an hour away and would drive the distance to watch this play again.”
-- user review "steinbeckgirl" on goldstar.com
“All of it was riveting but I thought the directional and staging choices particularly were the most stunning I've seen in years. Nuanced and bold and logical without being overly simple or obvious... Tremendously amazing theatrical experience.”
-- Susannah Greenwood, Artsalot [via Facebook]
SLEUTH . CenterREP . 2014
“The devilish British playwright Anthony Shaffer did his best to confuse and confound you and Mark Anderson Phillips, who directs this production, seems only too happy to join in on the gag(s). "Sleuth" has been around since 1970, and you can't go wrong with the lavish version staged by Center Repertory Company. "Sleuth" is the sort of play Agatha Christie would have written if she'd had an enormous cruel streak. The story line reaches a point where it bolts free from its stiff-upper-lip British mooring and runs madly around the stage. And it works, mainly because "Sleuth" itself, is something that it isn't supposed to be. When it opens in Wyke's country home in Wiltshire, England, it seems like the audience is in for a conventional English drawing room mystery. Kit Wilder and Thomas Gorrebeeck create amazingly believable characters who seem absolutely real, until all the strange stuff begins to happen and the story takes a hard left at crazyville. The two men are in a pitched game of cat and mouse, with the roles of hunter and hunted changing frequently as the story gets stranger and stranger. It's a wild ride well worth taking.”
-- Pat Craig, San Jose Mercury News
THE 39 STEPS . CenterREP . 2013
“This '39 Steps' is enormously satisfying and astonishingly accomplished. It gets everything right. Get ready for a vibrant and delightful evening or matinee. It's Perfect! Positivively thrilling direction by Mark Anderson Phillips.”
-- Lee Hartgrave, For All Events
“Phillips is in the director’s chair because he is extremely versatile and his directorial skill is on exhibit in this play.”
-- Kedar D. Adour, For All Events
“The show doesn't get much better than the Center Repertory Company production at Walnut Creek's Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts, which is intimate enough to not only let you see the players sweat, but for you to observe every comedic nuance.
And there are, as a matter of fact, a surprising number of comic flourishes and details, especially for a play that moves like a runaway freight train made entirely of Silly Putty.
This is due to Patrick Barlow's no-prisoners script in the hands of a director, Mark Anderson Phillips, and cast that has earned a reputation for swinging a big comic bat. ...The actors are top-notch and directed well by Phillips, who gives them plenty of room to run.”
-- Pat Craig, SJ Mercury News
“With just a few props and set pieces, not to mention the creativity of director Mark Anderson Phillips and his superb cast, the bare stage easily converts to a London apartment, a cottage in the Scotland Highlands, and a large manor house.”
-- Sally Hogarty, Contra Costa Times
WHAT THE BUTLER SAW . City Lights Theatre . 2005
“As the entanglements get thicker and the four doorways get busier, all the elements of this '60s, "swinging London" doctor's office start to come together in the most perfectly horrid little farce. There's always a question of how real or camp to play these characters, and the ratio seems to be directly related to how much of a squirm factor you like with your comedy. This production falls somewhere in the middle on both counts. So put your prurience on and enjoy.”
-- Marianne Messina, Metroactive
"I was blown away by the production. It all starts with the direction and the cast and acting. The lighting was also brilliant. The story is something we all need to pay attention to. Live theater is the greatest art we have in my humble opinion. And a good folks at City Lights are offering it up to us . . . spectacularly."
-- Richard Popchak
"City Lights Theater Company's production of J.B. Priestley's classic take-down of the shallow upper-crust packs a punch. What director Mark Anderson Phillips creates well is mood. Phillips goes to great pains to create this odd, cruel world where empathic forces aren’t part of this family’s worldview. The established chill begins to dissipate as the story moves forward, Phillips accentuating the thrill of the text mightily."
-- David John Chavez, San Jose Mercury News
"[D]istinctive and ultimately satisfying. Mark Anderson Phillips directs and has assembled creative elements that enhance the narrative."
-- Victor Cordell, Talkin’ Broadway
THE GAME'S AFOOT OR HOLMES FOR THE HOLIDAYS . CITY LIGHTS . 2023
"Murder, mystery and madcap mayhem are all brought forth with shimmering glee within director Mark Anderson Phillips’ purposeful staging."
-- David John Chavez, San Jose Mercury News
KINKY BOOTS . CITY LIGHTS . 2023
"Lots of high-octane performances guided by directors Lisa Mallette and Mark Anderson Phillips, shaking the old theater space in downtown San Jose to the studs. “Kinky Boots” is a surefire summer hit that grabs hold of the audience, especially in the wild finale, with radiant, transcendent joy and squeezes away whatever cynicism anyone may possess."
— David John Chávez, San Jose Mercury News
"A production bursting at the seams with as much — or maybe even more — joy, heart and ecstasy as the original, big-stage version. With a cast of twenty-three who can sing and dance like nobody's business, City Lights has a summertime hit that is a must see, with a message of love and acceptance that needs to be heard, now more than ever."
— Eddie Reynolds, Talkin’ Broadway
"Seeing Kinky Boots at City Lights Theater in San Jose is a little like witnessing a 2½-hour earthquake: It’s guaranteed to shake you right down to your boots, shoes, slippers or whatever else you’re currently wearing on your feet. Here’s a tip: Just sit back and enjoy an evening of fun, entertainment and song."
— Joanne Engelhardt, Aisle Seat Review
BLITHE SPIRIT . CITY LIGHTS . 2023
"A fantastically directed, hilariously performed “Blithe Spirit” . . . It’s a don’t-miss production. What ensures that this cast's talents are reaped every minute is the comic genius of director Mark Anderson Phillips. So many little touches that add up to major laughs are clearly a director's inspiration."
— Eddie Reynolds, Talkin' Broadway
"City Lights has produced a sparkling rendition that hits the mark on every measure. Mark Anderson Phillips directs, and he ensures that all of the pieces work. Individual performances are vivid and the interactions timely with the humor landing as intended. The whole of the wide stage is used to great effect. All of the creative elements are rock solid."
— Vic Cordell, cordellreports.com
"The company’s production, directed with broad, comic strokes by Mark Anderson Phillips, keeps the action rolling. The magic of the play is actual magic. That mystique begins with the sèance table and concludes with the set’s phenomenal commitment to storytelling, making the play’s conclusion pop with evocative glee. Phillips stewards smooth staging that lives on a set awash in stirring scenic detail, ensuring that invisibility rules as chaos ensues."
— David John Chavez, San Jose Mercury News
SILENT SKY . CITY LIGHTS . 2019
“It’s a luminous play, touching and stirring and funny in all the right places, and director Mark Anderson Phillips and the pitch-perfect cast bring out all those aspects beautifully. If you want to kindle a sense of wonder or nurture an interest in science or the arts or the vast universe in which we dwell, you could do a lot worse than to behold this Silent Sky.”
-Sam Hurwitt, The Mercury News
"One of the San Francisco Bay Area’s best directors, Mark Anderson Phillips, and a powerful cast make real the heart and the meaning of Gunderson’s script, which is the story of astronomer Henrietta Swan Leavitt.... Anderson Phillips, as an actor, is known for total commitment to every role he plays. When he steps on stage, he leaves himself behind, and becomes whatever his role demands him to be. He has helped the five fine actors of this cast to do the same. Bravura work."
- John Orr, Regarding Arts
"Actor and now often director Mark Anderson Phillips returns to City Lights to direct Silent Sky with an ability to teach us some important history while ensuring the personalities and dilemmas never seem so outdated that we cannot relate, empathize and learn. He makes full use of the spectacular set designed by Ron Gasparinetti with its sloping ramp, stairs, multiple levels and rooms in cherry-colored wood as well as a skeletal hint of the observatory dome under a massive backdrop sky. "
- Eddie Reynolds, Talkin' Broadway
THE SIEGEL . CITY LIGHTS . 2018
"A popcorn-paced, fun and funny, smartly designed and directed production at City Lights Theater Company. Mark Anderson Phillips directs Michael Mitnick's gem with an astute eye to allow each actor to develop as a unique piece of this interlocking puzzle. What is particularly strong in his direction and the script itself is that each of the many scenes has a definite beginning, middle, and end – almost as if independent vignettes have been pieced together to flow into what turns out to be one, overall story."
-- Eddie Reynolds, Talkin' Broadway
"The Siegel is fast paced and fun, with jokes flying so fast you can barely catch them all. But most importantly, the show has a lot of heart. It can be difficult to craft a show that is both genuinely funny and moving. A combination of great acting, solid directing by Mark Anderson Phillips and a fabulous script by Michael Mitnick make this a show you won’t want to miss."
-- Alexandra Garfield, Theater by the Bay
IDEATION . CITY LIGHTS . 2017
"Darkly comedic... sharply directed by Mark Anderson Phillips... The team in the play is a close-knit group of collaborators that work together like a well-oiled machine... keeping the tension high and mounting throughout...The dread and paranoia grow to a fever pitch..."
-- Sam Hurwitt, San Jose Mercury News
"A fast-paced, dark comedy addressing the notion of powerful people making decisions that directly change the world. Directed by Mark Anderson Phillips, the cast does an excellent job of balancing nervous hilarity with serious debate."
-- Benjamin Siepak, Metroactive
"Directed by Mark Anderson Phillips, the play is thought-provoking, devilishly dark, and infuriating (because most of the answers never come), but also funny."
-- Darshana Varia Nadkarni
"Director Mark Anderson Phillips brings intimate knowledge and terrific insight and imagination into this City Lights production. To carry out both his sometimes silly, often darkly comic inspirations as well as a mounting air of threatening foreboding that he weaves masterfully from Aaron Loeb's brilliant script, this director is blessed with a cast well suited for the undertaking."
-- Eddie Reynolds, Talkin' Broadway
"A harrowing indictment of corporate culture. This is an office meeting you want to go to."
-- Lily Janiak, San Francisco Chronicle
VANYA & SONIA & MASHA & SPIKE . CENTER REP . 2015
“Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at Center REP is an amazingly pleasurable experience in every imaginable way. A delightful celebration of self-loathing, bitterness, low self-esteem, and longing for the return of a dying culture.”
-- Sheldon Haun, Showmag.com
“Fast-paced, hilarious, yet poignant.”
-- Sally Hogarty, Contra Costa Times
“The production is shot through with astute performances.”
-- Karen D'Souza, San Jose Mercury News
“A fantastic production and absolutely hilarious.”
-- Donald White on Goldstar.com
“Genuine, funny, effortless, beautiful set, great music, perfect casting, wonderful comedic direction by Mark Anderson Phillips -- even in comedy there can be such truths!”
-- Lori Erokan on Facebook
“Comedy delivered in a highly entertaining style ... a fun, brazen, intriguing play, directed by Mark Anderson Phillips.“Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play, and continues its relevancy.”
-- Jan Miller, Joint Forces Journal
DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE . CITY LIGHTS . 2015
“If there was such a thing as a black diamond — cut, polished and beautiful — that is what we could call the City Lights production of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Directed by Mark Anderson Phillips, there is no part of this show that is not fascinating and excellent. At its best moments, it is electrifying.”
-- John Orr, Regarding Arts
“The ensuing battle draws more innocents unknowingly into its folds with the tension and pace of horrifying events steadily mounting... Powerful direction by Mark Anderson Phillips...”
-- Eddie Reynolds, Talkin' Broadway
“Stylish atmosphere and exuberant performances that will get you in the mood for the dark spirit of Halloween. Phillips punctuates the piece with eerie tableaus and chilling moments. The production is shot through with sly touches that keep us entranced by the strange case of a soul divided. “
-- Karen d'Souza, San Jose Mercury News
“Intimate, fresh, innovative, psychologically captivating, superbly produced theater.”
-- Team San Jose
“What a production! it is an experience that keeps you transfixed and unaware you've been holding your breath until the haunting ending.”
-- Retablos [via Facebook]
“The cast was outstanding. The end left me with chills. I live an hour away and would drive the distance to watch this play again.”
-- user review "steinbeckgirl" on goldstar.com
“All of it was riveting but I thought the directional and staging choices particularly were the most stunning I've seen in years. Nuanced and bold and logical without being overly simple or obvious... Tremendously amazing theatrical experience.”
-- Susannah Greenwood, Artsalot [via Facebook]
SLEUTH . CenterREP . 2014
“The devilish British playwright Anthony Shaffer did his best to confuse and confound you and Mark Anderson Phillips, who directs this production, seems only too happy to join in on the gag(s). "Sleuth" has been around since 1970, and you can't go wrong with the lavish version staged by Center Repertory Company. "Sleuth" is the sort of play Agatha Christie would have written if she'd had an enormous cruel streak. The story line reaches a point where it bolts free from its stiff-upper-lip British mooring and runs madly around the stage. And it works, mainly because "Sleuth" itself, is something that it isn't supposed to be. When it opens in Wyke's country home in Wiltshire, England, it seems like the audience is in for a conventional English drawing room mystery. Kit Wilder and Thomas Gorrebeeck create amazingly believable characters who seem absolutely real, until all the strange stuff begins to happen and the story takes a hard left at crazyville. The two men are in a pitched game of cat and mouse, with the roles of hunter and hunted changing frequently as the story gets stranger and stranger. It's a wild ride well worth taking.”
-- Pat Craig, San Jose Mercury News
THE 39 STEPS . CenterREP . 2013
“This '39 Steps' is enormously satisfying and astonishingly accomplished. It gets everything right. Get ready for a vibrant and delightful evening or matinee. It's Perfect! Positivively thrilling direction by Mark Anderson Phillips.”
-- Lee Hartgrave, For All Events
“Phillips is in the director’s chair because he is extremely versatile and his directorial skill is on exhibit in this play.”
-- Kedar D. Adour, For All Events
“The show doesn't get much better than the Center Repertory Company production at Walnut Creek's Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts, which is intimate enough to not only let you see the players sweat, but for you to observe every comedic nuance.
And there are, as a matter of fact, a surprising number of comic flourishes and details, especially for a play that moves like a runaway freight train made entirely of Silly Putty.
This is due to Patrick Barlow's no-prisoners script in the hands of a director, Mark Anderson Phillips, and cast that has earned a reputation for swinging a big comic bat. ...The actors are top-notch and directed well by Phillips, who gives them plenty of room to run.”
-- Pat Craig, SJ Mercury News
“With just a few props and set pieces, not to mention the creativity of director Mark Anderson Phillips and his superb cast, the bare stage easily converts to a London apartment, a cottage in the Scotland Highlands, and a large manor house.”
-- Sally Hogarty, Contra Costa Times
WHAT THE BUTLER SAW . City Lights Theatre . 2005
“As the entanglements get thicker and the four doorways get busier, all the elements of this '60s, "swinging London" doctor's office start to come together in the most perfectly horrid little farce. There's always a question of how real or camp to play these characters, and the ratio seems to be directly related to how much of a squirm factor you like with your comedy. This production falls somewhere in the middle on both counts. So put your prurience on and enjoy.”
-- Marianne Messina, Metroactive
