Press
Henry VIII
"To encompass the story’s many events, Charlie Calvert provides a somberly handsome setting of white marble, dark wood and looming portcullis screens. Glowing upon one side is a painting that depicts Henry’s “Field of Gold” meeting with the king of France. On the other hangs a large period portrait of Katherine, which is later replaced by one of Anne. As lighted by Michael Giannitti, the characters often seem to genuinely materialize from out of the dusky background of 1500s history."
-The New York Times
A Moon for the Misbegotten
"One of the show's most striking elements is Charlie Calvert's set, which manages to create an amazing illusion in the intimate space of The Warehouse. The off-kilter farmhouse background makes the foreground feel as if it is raked at a severe angle, even though it's physically just a flat, dirt-covered floor. That illusory rake helps give the whole show a dreamlike feel while also psychologically underlining the uphill struggle each of the characters face.
-BroadwayWorld.com
The Learned Ladies
"...a witty set designed mostly in white and gold by Charlie Calvert. An enlarged and handwritten French manuscript of the play wallpapers the family’s drawing room, while the polished, oval floor rests atop a layer of oversize books. These visuals glow against the surrounding greenery and night skies."
-The New York Times
Our Town
"Charlie Calvert, the scenic designer, provides a square, wooden proscenium that frames a modest thrust stage and the handsome back wall of an old-fashioned theater built of dusky red brick. The tables and chairs used by the actors to represent places including a drugstore, a church and a cemetery have been carefully selected to be authentic to the region and the period."
-The New York Times
The Tempest
"Scenic Designer Charlie Calvert brings a two-fold approach of symbolism to his design work with a smattering of umbrellas covering the stage. Not only are umbrellas relevant as shelter from the oncoming storm, but they serve as a reminder of how Prospero wished nothing but to shield his daughter Miranda from the cruelties of the world, from a past long forgotten, and from the men that had so easily made ruin of his own life."
-DC Metro Theatre Arts
"Scenic designer Charlie Calvert’s backdrop of white umbrellas, opened, with handles pointed toward the audience, looks simple but has visual pop and echoes the play’s opening storm. Low-tech effects include cables strung across the stage to send other umbrellas floating skyward, or on which to hang sea-blue bolts of cloth as ocean waves in the magical tempest Prospero stirs up to shipwreck his enemies on his island. Late in the play, a trio of giant puppets appear as mythical spirits. "
-The Washingtonian
The Comedy of Errors
"This production is a wonderful mélange of influences. First of all — and this is not a complaint about Charlie Calvert’s scenic design — Ephesus looks a lot like Venice. Lest there be any confusion, however, the backdrop consists of two pretty midcentury-style travel posters ('Greetings From Ephesus' and 'Ephesus Beckons You'). "
-The New York Times
"Under the brisk-and-breezy direction of Jason King Jones, the action is mostly contained within the harbor area of Ephesus, an impressive piece of redwood construction designed by Charlie Calvert. In addition to a bridge and its walkways, the setting also ingeniously allows us to see the water as well as a moored rowboat that actually bobs with the tide when it is in use. Behind it are two giant beautifully back-lighted postcards that read 'Greetings from Ephesus' and 'Ephesus Beckons You.' "
-Curtain Up
Although the setting nominally remains the ancient Greek city of Ephesus (today it is part of Turkey), the extended, visually entrancing and brilliantly playable set moves The Comedy of Errors to the city of Venice. The rear wall is composed of two enormous travel posters. To our left, the larger of the two posters depicts a wide view of the canals of Venice fronting the façades of classically styled Venetian buildings (although it bears the legend "Greetings from Ephesus"). To our right is a somewhat smaller poster of a less distinctive courtyard on a narrow cosmopolitan street (bearing the legend "Ephesus Welcomes You"). Directly in front is a wooden sidewalk dressed with café tables and chairs. It faces out on a complexly designed, strikingly angled wharf area setting which extends over the entire large stage and consists of a series of rounded, artfully decorated wooden bridges, with linking pathways between them passing over (painted, three dimensional canvas) canals. To the front is a wharf in front of which a rowboat sits in the water. When the right moment arrives, the movement of the "water" and its stormy effect on the occupied boat is pure stage magic. There are even further elements to this fantastic set by Charlie Calvert which interact with the performance. It is truly special."
-TalkingBroadway.com
"All this zaniness unfolds on a spectacular set designed by Charlie Calvert complete with docks, bridges and what looks like water and a rowboat that moves from side to side..."
-NJ Arts Maven
Arms and the Man
"Raina’s bedroom, with the starry night sky behind it, and the family garden nicely suggest a life of beauty and comfort."
-The New York Times
"The two-sided mobile scenic panels designed by Charlie Calvert produce pretty, airy sets for the three locations within and outside the Petkoff manse."
-TalkingBroadway.com
"One of the nicest things about Discher's staging is seeing the three handsome settings by designer Charlie Calvert — the bedchamber, the garden and the library of the Petkoff home in Bulgaria — revolve into view with the finesse that also graces the acting."
-Curtain Up
"The set design by Charlie Calvert is smooth and flexible, with the set changes done with flair."
-The Independent Press
The Tempest
"...this 'Tempest' offers enough visual distraction to keep audiences riveted. The opening scene, beautifully conceived by Mr. Discher and the set designer Charles Calvert, is one example."
-The New York Times
"Although Charles Calvert's most playable wood planked set is not elaborate,...it manages to provide some visual magic of its own."
-Talkin' Broadway
"Set designer Calvert is to be commended for various special effects, which I won't reveal here, lest the wonder they produce be spoiled"
-Essex Journal
"Charles Calvert's set stands out without competing with the surroundings"
-The Daily Record
Noises Off
"Charlie Calvert's set offers a double-tier view of a country house that has enough stairs and doors to create an active arena for bedlam..."
-Variety
"As you might expect, innumerable bedroom, closet and other extraneous doors have one thing in common, their faulty knobs, latches and hinges. These are the attention-grabbing devices in designer Charlie Calvert's impressively made-for-traveling set..."
-Curtain Up
"The changeover of the intricate unit set by Charlie Calvert from backstage to the Tudor House receives a deserved set of applause."
-Theatremania
"It's impossible to imagine a better revolving set than designer Charlie Calvert's. It's a beaut."
-The Two River Times
The Compleat Wrks of Willm Shkspr (Abridged)
"Charlie Calvert's set, with 14-foot-tall books...adds considerably to the show's cheery playfulness"
-The New York Times
"Charlie Calvert's ingenious set is composed of handsome, leather-bound enormous book covers, labeling many of Shakespeare's works."
-The Independent Press
"The lovely and eminently performable set is by Charlie Calvert. It is made up of 20-foot-high, thick, authentic-looking books bearing the names of various Shakespeare plays on their bindings. Most are vertical, but three are horizontally laid atop one another, providing three additional playing levels. Also, the binding of one of the vertically placed books has three door sections at the bottom which can be opened individually or together, and are employed to excellent comic effect."
-www.TalkinBroadway.com
Orange
"Overall, Orange is noticeably well thought-through by the artistic team. The set, designed by Charlie Calvert, is a construction site with scaffolds as levels, studs lining the backdrop, and plywood walls climbing upward, blocking out the luminosity of the blue and white sky."
-Austin Chronicle
"Director Marc Parees ensures that the large, evenly talented cast maintains our interest on Charlie Calvert's clever set of plywood that gradually blocks out a blue-and-white sky"
-Austin American-Statesman
The Seagull
"Charlie Calvert's abstract set generates an endless string of striking and very intriguing pictures on the stage."
-Journal and Courier
Look Homeward, Angel
"Most of the play is set in the boardinghouse, represented by five upstage doors (set design Charlie Calvert)...and the color of the set did seem to bathe everything in a golden hue, which made the bright white spot on the stone "angel" most appropriate."
-www.oobr.com
Pieces (of Ass)
"...on a stage tastefully framed with the sort of silhouettes truckers favor for their mud flaps, 14 women share original - and purportedly true - tales of sexiness and suffering."
-Time Out New York
"To encompass the story’s many events, Charlie Calvert provides a somberly handsome setting of white marble, dark wood and looming portcullis screens. Glowing upon one side is a painting that depicts Henry’s “Field of Gold” meeting with the king of France. On the other hangs a large period portrait of Katherine, which is later replaced by one of Anne. As lighted by Michael Giannitti, the characters often seem to genuinely materialize from out of the dusky background of 1500s history."
-The New York Times
A Moon for the Misbegotten
"One of the show's most striking elements is Charlie Calvert's set, which manages to create an amazing illusion in the intimate space of The Warehouse. The off-kilter farmhouse background makes the foreground feel as if it is raked at a severe angle, even though it's physically just a flat, dirt-covered floor. That illusory rake helps give the whole show a dreamlike feel while also psychologically underlining the uphill struggle each of the characters face.
-BroadwayWorld.com
The Learned Ladies
"...a witty set designed mostly in white and gold by Charlie Calvert. An enlarged and handwritten French manuscript of the play wallpapers the family’s drawing room, while the polished, oval floor rests atop a layer of oversize books. These visuals glow against the surrounding greenery and night skies."
-The New York Times
Our Town
"Charlie Calvert, the scenic designer, provides a square, wooden proscenium that frames a modest thrust stage and the handsome back wall of an old-fashioned theater built of dusky red brick. The tables and chairs used by the actors to represent places including a drugstore, a church and a cemetery have been carefully selected to be authentic to the region and the period."
-The New York Times
The Tempest
"Scenic Designer Charlie Calvert brings a two-fold approach of symbolism to his design work with a smattering of umbrellas covering the stage. Not only are umbrellas relevant as shelter from the oncoming storm, but they serve as a reminder of how Prospero wished nothing but to shield his daughter Miranda from the cruelties of the world, from a past long forgotten, and from the men that had so easily made ruin of his own life."
-DC Metro Theatre Arts
"Scenic designer Charlie Calvert’s backdrop of white umbrellas, opened, with handles pointed toward the audience, looks simple but has visual pop and echoes the play’s opening storm. Low-tech effects include cables strung across the stage to send other umbrellas floating skyward, or on which to hang sea-blue bolts of cloth as ocean waves in the magical tempest Prospero stirs up to shipwreck his enemies on his island. Late in the play, a trio of giant puppets appear as mythical spirits. "
-The Washingtonian
The Comedy of Errors
"This production is a wonderful mélange of influences. First of all — and this is not a complaint about Charlie Calvert’s scenic design — Ephesus looks a lot like Venice. Lest there be any confusion, however, the backdrop consists of two pretty midcentury-style travel posters ('Greetings From Ephesus' and 'Ephesus Beckons You'). "
-The New York Times
"Under the brisk-and-breezy direction of Jason King Jones, the action is mostly contained within the harbor area of Ephesus, an impressive piece of redwood construction designed by Charlie Calvert. In addition to a bridge and its walkways, the setting also ingeniously allows us to see the water as well as a moored rowboat that actually bobs with the tide when it is in use. Behind it are two giant beautifully back-lighted postcards that read 'Greetings from Ephesus' and 'Ephesus Beckons You.' "
-Curtain Up
Although the setting nominally remains the ancient Greek city of Ephesus (today it is part of Turkey), the extended, visually entrancing and brilliantly playable set moves The Comedy of Errors to the city of Venice. The rear wall is composed of two enormous travel posters. To our left, the larger of the two posters depicts a wide view of the canals of Venice fronting the façades of classically styled Venetian buildings (although it bears the legend "Greetings from Ephesus"). To our right is a somewhat smaller poster of a less distinctive courtyard on a narrow cosmopolitan street (bearing the legend "Ephesus Welcomes You"). Directly in front is a wooden sidewalk dressed with café tables and chairs. It faces out on a complexly designed, strikingly angled wharf area setting which extends over the entire large stage and consists of a series of rounded, artfully decorated wooden bridges, with linking pathways between them passing over (painted, three dimensional canvas) canals. To the front is a wharf in front of which a rowboat sits in the water. When the right moment arrives, the movement of the "water" and its stormy effect on the occupied boat is pure stage magic. There are even further elements to this fantastic set by Charlie Calvert which interact with the performance. It is truly special."
-TalkingBroadway.com
"All this zaniness unfolds on a spectacular set designed by Charlie Calvert complete with docks, bridges and what looks like water and a rowboat that moves from side to side..."
-NJ Arts Maven
Arms and the Man
"Raina’s bedroom, with the starry night sky behind it, and the family garden nicely suggest a life of beauty and comfort."
-The New York Times
"The two-sided mobile scenic panels designed by Charlie Calvert produce pretty, airy sets for the three locations within and outside the Petkoff manse."
-TalkingBroadway.com
"One of the nicest things about Discher's staging is seeing the three handsome settings by designer Charlie Calvert — the bedchamber, the garden and the library of the Petkoff home in Bulgaria — revolve into view with the finesse that also graces the acting."
-Curtain Up
"The set design by Charlie Calvert is smooth and flexible, with the set changes done with flair."
-The Independent Press
The Tempest
"...this 'Tempest' offers enough visual distraction to keep audiences riveted. The opening scene, beautifully conceived by Mr. Discher and the set designer Charles Calvert, is one example."
-The New York Times
"Although Charles Calvert's most playable wood planked set is not elaborate,...it manages to provide some visual magic of its own."
-Talkin' Broadway
"Set designer Calvert is to be commended for various special effects, which I won't reveal here, lest the wonder they produce be spoiled"
-Essex Journal
"Charles Calvert's set stands out without competing with the surroundings"
-The Daily Record
Noises Off
"Charlie Calvert's set offers a double-tier view of a country house that has enough stairs and doors to create an active arena for bedlam..."
-Variety
"As you might expect, innumerable bedroom, closet and other extraneous doors have one thing in common, their faulty knobs, latches and hinges. These are the attention-grabbing devices in designer Charlie Calvert's impressively made-for-traveling set..."
-Curtain Up
"The changeover of the intricate unit set by Charlie Calvert from backstage to the Tudor House receives a deserved set of applause."
-Theatremania
"It's impossible to imagine a better revolving set than designer Charlie Calvert's. It's a beaut."
-The Two River Times
The Compleat Wrks of Willm Shkspr (Abridged)
"Charlie Calvert's set, with 14-foot-tall books...adds considerably to the show's cheery playfulness"
-The New York Times
"Charlie Calvert's ingenious set is composed of handsome, leather-bound enormous book covers, labeling many of Shakespeare's works."
-The Independent Press
"The lovely and eminently performable set is by Charlie Calvert. It is made up of 20-foot-high, thick, authentic-looking books bearing the names of various Shakespeare plays on their bindings. Most are vertical, but three are horizontally laid atop one another, providing three additional playing levels. Also, the binding of one of the vertically placed books has three door sections at the bottom which can be opened individually or together, and are employed to excellent comic effect."
-www.TalkinBroadway.com
Orange
"Overall, Orange is noticeably well thought-through by the artistic team. The set, designed by Charlie Calvert, is a construction site with scaffolds as levels, studs lining the backdrop, and plywood walls climbing upward, blocking out the luminosity of the blue and white sky."
-Austin Chronicle
"Director Marc Parees ensures that the large, evenly talented cast maintains our interest on Charlie Calvert's clever set of plywood that gradually blocks out a blue-and-white sky"
-Austin American-Statesman
The Seagull
"Charlie Calvert's abstract set generates an endless string of striking and very intriguing pictures on the stage."
-Journal and Courier
Look Homeward, Angel
"Most of the play is set in the boardinghouse, represented by five upstage doors (set design Charlie Calvert)...and the color of the set did seem to bathe everything in a golden hue, which made the bright white spot on the stone "angel" most appropriate."
-www.oobr.com
Pieces (of Ass)
"...on a stage tastefully framed with the sort of silhouettes truckers favor for their mud flaps, 14 women share original - and purportedly true - tales of sexiness and suffering."
-Time Out New York
