ACTOR
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in Brian Dykstra Selling Out at The Kitchen Theatre Company “One the marvels of a Dykstra performance is his constant redefinition of the porosity of the “fourth wall.” He can lift his eyes to the ceiling and cry out to the world as if there is no one in the room with him, and he can look a particular audience member in the eye after they have laughed at one of his jokes and improvise a snappy one-liner just for them. Between those poles he addresses the assembly with varying degrees of directness. This deployment of actorly skill causes dramatic changes in the emotional distance between you and Dykstra, which keeps you engaged, to say the least.” |
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as Walter Franz in The Price at the B Street Theatre in Sacramento "If you've ever seen members of a great basketball team working together, you understand a physical poetry unlike any other. Imagine Magic Johnson leading a fast break with James Worthy and Byron Scott on the wings. All great players, but together, as Aristotle once said, 'The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.' Those Lakers, called 'Showtime,' seem an apt analogy to 'The Price' at the B Street Theatre." |
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as Mark Rothko in Red at the B Street Theatre in Sacramento "Neither the writing nor Dykstra's captivating, larger-than-life performance attempt to manufacture a charming or sympathetic rogue from Rothko's imposing profile. Instead, they create a fascinating, implacable, unpredictable, intellectual bully. Don't even try taking your eyes off him. You can't, and you shouldn't miss a moment of the onstage excellence." |
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as Mike in Good People at The Dorset Theatre Festival "Dykstra has the most difficult role in the play. He carries it off well; even his darkest, meanest moments are played with a laid-away charm that thrives on such moments. There is so much going on in this performance that the onlooker could mistake gestures and vocal shadings as anything from closet sadist to homosexual to professional skeptic. Mike has worked his way out of the Boston ghetto and into a mainstream existence that is almost always a fiction. Dykstra’s fine performance makes us see that Mike isn’t even aware of all that." |
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as Gus Sakellariadis in Call Me Waldo for The Working Theatre “Call Me Waldo offers some genuine laughs, especially with its subplot involving the improbable romance between the vulgar, blue-collar Gus (the boisterously funny Brian Dykstra) and the refined Cynthia (Jennifer Dorr White).” |
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as Gus Sakellariadis in Call Me Waldo at The Kitchen Theatre Company “Dykstra is brilliant as Gus, the hectoring, oversized loudmouth who screws up and blames others; the lion who's really a pussycat. The mainstay of his vocabulary is the f-word, and from his opening disapproval of the donuts with pink icing and sprinkles that Lee's brought to start their workday, he manages to invest this word with nuance and full ridiculous range.” |
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as Mark Rothko in RED at Repertory Theatre of St. Louis “Dykstra's impassioned performance delivers a man who, at the height of his powers, understands that only one thing comes after heights. From the opening moments, when he takes the audience in his long, deep gaze, we realize he sees what we can't…[His] performance reveals a man as troubling as his paintings, subtly packed with deep shadows and almost-hidden sparks of light. Kevin Klein Award Nominee |
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as Mark Rothko at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park “Dykstra’s Rothko is a vain, fearful, explosive genius who shows increasing doubt about the commission he has undertaken.” |
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as Granville Parker in The Body Politic “Brian Dykstra offers us a perfect Southern gentleman-politician. The accent is impeccable, his mannerisms patrician but not without a touch of country-boy charm. A well grounded, portrayal.” |
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in First Prize at the ArcLight Theatre, Kef Productions “There are many colorful passages detailing Adriana's interactions with successful conductors (perhaps inspired by the playwright's marriage to Lorin Maazel) all played masterfully by Brian Dykstra, who makes us laugh and cringe at the slimy characters he embodies.” |
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in Ho! at The Drilling Company Theatre “In Dykstra there are no airs and no pretensions. He emits a tough-guy honesty, a mixture of don't-fool-with-me and show-me-what-you-got. He's Everydude, which means he can do anything on stage, and very often he does.” |
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as Elyot Chase in Private Lives at The Kitchen Theatre Company “As Elyot, Dykstra, not the conventional type for this part, nails Elyot's superficiality and idleness, that desire to ‘enjoy the party as long as we can.’” |
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as Ramone in Killing Women at The Samuel Beckett Theatre “Brian Dykstra is convincingly cagey as the boss of this terminal collection agency.” |
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in HO! at The Kitchen Theatre Company “Santaland Diaries move over; there’s another seasonal satire on the Christmas stage!” |
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as Claudius in Hamlet at Northern Stage Company “Brian Dykstra, as Claudius, is evil as can be, but adds a dimension of remorse.” |
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as Max in A Play on Words at 59E59 Theaters Americas Off Broadway Festival “‘Waiting for Godot’…‘Who’s on first?’…diverting and clever!” |
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as Oscar Hubbard in Little Foxes at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey “Convincingly villainous” |
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as Max in A Play On Words at The Kitchen Theatre Company “Dykstra's Max is easily recognizable; even if we hadn't seen him onstage before we'd know this loud, manic, labile, overbearing, vulnerable and irresistibly impossible guy.” |
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as Boris Trigorin in The Seagull at the American Repertory Theatre "Powerful and astute performances--- real, careful, and exciting work by skilled actors working in concert. That's what theater needs - now, and no doubt 200,000 years from now, too." |
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in Brian Dykstra THE JESUS FACTOR at The Barrow Street Theatre “Dykstra Strikes Again! |
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in STRANGERHORSE at the Kitchen Theatre Company “Kitchen Theatre regular audiences easily remember Brian Dykstra as the overbearing, philandering husband in “A Marriage Minuet” or the aggressive lawyer in his own play “Clean Alternatives.” Both roles called for dynamic force and verbal fireworks, and Dykstra delivered in spades. But in his explosive new play Dykstra leaves the clash of personalities to others. His own role is of a contemporary Sioux whose brief story quietly but powerfully bookends the play. None of Dykstra's flashing-eyed comic expressions here, only craggy features and tired eyes squinting against the sun. His speech bears the blunted, lilting Indian cadence. In worn Western clothes, complete with dusty cowboy hat and bandana, Dykstra seems so iconic a Native American that one audience member later asked if he wasn't, in fact, of that heritage.” |
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as Rex Franklin in A Marriage Minuet "The Kitchen Theatre Company closes its 16th season not with a bang but an explosion - of laughter erupting from the audience. You can doubtless hear it from a block away. All five actors are splendid, with Dykstra as the offensive Rex dazzling the most." |
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as Richard (the bewildered husband) in Sealed For Freshness
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"Though his words are well crafted and his thinking clear, it almost doesn't matter what he's saying. The sheer sound of his voice as it rises and falls offers its own visceral reward. Dykstra's work provides the startling immediacy that makes live performance feel so alive." "Dykstra, as the aptly named Cutter, stays with the team. But it's not without consequences. He knows what he's become, and this awareness horrifies us precisely because he knows all his own angles and he anticipates all the arguments. Dykstra shows us the cost of compromise, but not through a whitewash. Instead he lets Cutter remain big, bullish, eloquent and fiery right to the very end. Don't expect any easy closure." |
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as Don in ROUNDING THIRD at Theatreworks “Don (Brian Dykstra in a definitive performance) and Michael (Daniel Cantor, who holds his own admirably against the Dykstra juggernaut) begin "Rounding Third" on opposite philosophical benches, they wind up meeting somewhere in the middle...This is Dykstra's show; a performance that finds rich complexity.” |
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BRIAN DYKSTRA: CORNERED & ALONE at Access Theater a comedic rant of political proportations "One Off Broadway production you can be sure Republicans won't be flocking to is "Brian Dykstra: Cornered & Alone," but Democrats and environmentalists are going to find Mr. Dykstra 's EXHILARATING one-man show INTOXICATING and enormously satisfying." |
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as Cole in HIDING BEHIND COMETS at 29th Street Rep, New York “Tense barroom thriller… Sexually charged… Fiery… Mesmerizing… Riveting” |
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AMERICANA ABSURDUM at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London “This is the fastest theatre I've ever seen. The cast rip through their lines at patter-song pace…the talented nine-strong cast amidst the zaniness and constant activity even manage to lend a sympathetic humanity to their loathsome characters.” |
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AMERICANA ABSURDUM at PS122. “That Americana Absudrum has been a hit in London and Edinburgh is no shock: Brits and Scots can always be expected to shell out money to see Yanks behaving badly. Just because you live here doesn't mean you shouldn't join them in opening your wallet.” |
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as Heisenberg in COPENHAGEN at The Arizona Theater Company “Brilliant” |
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THAT DAMN DYKSTRA (the boxed set) at Access Theater “Brian Dykstra is working hard to turn ranting into a new genre, and if he succeeds comedy may not be safe…” |
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THE MEAN QUEEN & THE THIEF OF HEARTS at Access Theater “Magnificent storytelling” |
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as Eddie Carbone in A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE at TheatreFest What if the new Jersey professional and semiprofessional theaters bestowed their own version of the Tony Awards?…If I were the nominator, here’s the way I’d see the 2002-2003 season:…(nominations) Best Play Actor…Brian Dykstra for A View From the Bridge.” “As Eddie, Brian Dykstra gives a career-defining performance. An actor of remarkable depth and insight, Dykstra captures flawlessly the creeping, corroding sense of loss with which Eddie battles…Film star Anthony LaPaglia’s Eddie, on Broadway in 1997, seemed far too young and virile for the role. It is eye-opening here to watch Dykstra make Eddie his own. Wrapping his burly arms around his character, he comes out slugging with a power and ferocity that leaves one drained watching. His beefy, slightly stooped frame slumped in Eddie’s favorite chair, his face twisted in confusion as he confronts unexplored feelings of lust for his niece, his eyes mirroring contempt for the desperate Beatrice and barely repressed rage at the joyful innocence of Rodolpho— Dykstra’s Eddie is a man in turmoil and pain. |
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as Gabe in DINNER WITH FRIENDS at The Philadelphia Theatre Company “Memorable” |
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as David in FORSAKING ALL OTHERS, at the Access Theater “A chess game of fast paced moves...” |
as Banquo in MACBETH, at the Pittsburgh Public Theater “Electrifying.” |
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as Sir Toby in TWELFTH NIGHT, at the Pittsburgh Public Theater “Dykstra is hilarious as the drunken Sir Toby Belch.” |
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as Tim in ALL THE RAGE, at the Pittsburgh Public Theater “Each of us will prefer some performances over others— Dykstra’s soul-less insolence.” |
as Krogstad in A DOLL’S HOUSE, at the Asolo Theatre “Viperish” |
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as Forbes in INCOMMUNICADO, at the Harold Clurman Theater “Deft.” |
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as The Interrogator in BOBBY GOULD IN HELL, at New Hope Performing Arts Festival “The cast of four in uniformly excellent, expertly catching the snap and crackle of Mamet’s volleying dialogue. At the center of the wordplay is Brian Dykstra’s admirably manic portrayal of the merciless by witty interrogator.” |
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Creon in ANTIGONE, at St. John the Divine “Brian Dykstra is quite the powerhouse.” |
as Det. Wills in A MOST SECRET WAR, at the Judith Anderson “Deft.” |
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Agent:
Teresa Wolf
Wolf Talent Group
Teresa Wolf
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