Press
“Experiencing Vanessa Severo’s indelible portrayal of the artist Frida Kahlo, be prepared to be swept away on a journey grounded in historical truths, yet soaring on wings of imagination.”
- Sharon Eberson, OnStage Pittsburgh
“Severo is fearless in exposing Kahlo’s most intimate thoughts and painful struggles. And, at the same time, she connects them to her own powerful and vulnerable sense of self.”
-Cissy Lacks, Evanston Round Table
“Vanessa Severo wrote and brilliantly performs as Frida in this one person show”
-Steve Wilson, Broadwayworld.com, Kansas City
“Clocking in at about 75 minutes, the show whips along at such a rapid pace that it testifies to the actress’s formidable performance skills and smarts, not to mention her sheer physical endurance. The play is a roller coaster of primary emotions and shifts in time unpredictably”
“This Frida is a colorful and imaginative composition of pop-out scenes that flow one to the other. Taken in as a whole, this truly original work is a deeply affecting drama that leaves an ineradicable imprint.”
“Utterly engaging and original in both form and content, Frida…A Self Portrait not only reanimates the life of a key 20th-century artist, but also tells a story that continues to resonate: one of a person marginalized by dominant culture who bravely and insistently makes herself and her lived experience visible, through resilient self-expression and self-representation.”
“A lovely and gifted solo artist, Vanessa Severo’s intelligent, sensual and brilliantly creative self portraits of both herself and Frida Kahlo are two subjects that she knows best. The show is inspired by the artist’s published diary and a field trip to Mexico City to La Casa Azul, the Frida Kahlo Museum. A trained dancer as well as a gifted actor and playwright, Ms. Severo magically weaves her stories through voice and movement, and the end result is pure Art. Under the superb Direction of Joanie Schultz, Writers Theatre’s captivating one-act breezes by in 90 short minutes. It’s a play that’s guaranteed to entertain, educate and inspire every single theatergoer.”
- Colin Douglas, Chicago Theater and Concert Reviews
“Watching Frida...A Self Portrait requires imagination on the part of the audience, but it is a mechanism that engages at both emotional and intellectual levels. Severo, who tells us she was born in Brazil, cites a Portuguese word, "saudade," not easily defined in English or Spanish. She says it means ‘the deepest longing for emotion, for someone or something that is now gone, but might return in the distant future.’ That's a deeply felt undercurrent running through this production.”
- Rick Pender, Talkin’ Broadway
“The show is exceptional in every way. Severo’s depiction of Frida is an exhausting emotional experience in the best way possible, and her movement around the stage is dance-like. Highly recommended.”
- Lisa Gauthier Mitchson, NUVO
“‘Frida’ is a visually lush, emotionally rich story of the artist as a young woman.”
- Catey Sullivan, Chicago Sun-Times
“Kahlo became synonymous with the expressionistic self-portrait, a presentation of the body as the medium long before feminist performance artists such as Carolee Schneeman, Marina Abramović, and Karen Finley would elevate the aesthetic to entirely new forms. Severo’s performance connects the dots between the visual artwork of Frida Kahlo with the performative traditions of these feminist artists into her own life as a contemporary author/performer. Severo transliterates Frida Kahlo’s biography and artistic oeuvre into a contemporary contemplation of feminist art and performance through the medium of theatre.”
- Chris McCoy, PARTake: the Journal of Performance as Research
”The show lasts 75 minutes, but still, what stamina. Severo is the only person on stage playing numerous characters by slipping on a clothesline of outfits, pivoting into various timbres and accents, and gracefully moving in and out of a multitude of postures (her dancing background is apparent). Severo’s energy is indomitable, the clothesline is the only scenery, and the audience remained rapt throughout her many layered performance.”
- Angela Allen, Oregon Arts Watch
“A one-woman show is only as strong as its lead, and Severo is marvelous. She masterfully embodies each new character through voice, body language, and movement. Even her warm front-of-house announcement captivates. “Do you see a Frida Kahlo in me?” she asks, then shares the origins of the show.”
- Katherine Varga, CITY Magazine
“The play meditates on how, exactly, one sees oneself and the various forces that influenced her self-portraits, all of which are inextricably tied to her disability and solitude. In this way, is not just a portrait of Kahlo but of Severo and the Kahlo as seen by Severo, as well as a broader reflection on the self-portrait as a medium and the experiences that forge a self.”
- Jordana Rosenfeld, Pittsburgh City Paper
“No description of this show will do it justice. I highly recommend you see it for yourself.”
- Krista Garver, Broadwayworld.com
“Severo’s performance as Frida Kahlo is vulnerable, emotional, personal, and full of joy, drawing comparisons to her life and Frida’s in terms of their upbringing, heritage, parents, and creative outlets…Frida…A Self Portrait is utterly captivating as Severo bounces across the stage from character to character, costume to costume, guiding us through the ups and downs of this fantastically interesting and complex historical figure.”
- Colin Fleming-Stumpf, Broadwayworld.com
“I highly encourage you to see Severo’s triumph… If for nothing else, you will want to experience some of the most engrossing, finely produced, well-acted theatre I have seen anywhere, on any stage. You will not regret it.”
