"The Hound of the Baskervilles"
The Hound of the Baskervilles, American Heartland Theatre
"Much of the production's success stems directly from the efforts of the design team. Michael Benson's scenic design is flexible and tricked out with ladders, platforms, and a trap door that figures prominently into the final minutes of the show. The combination of Shane Rowse's ever shifting lighting plot and sound designer Donna Miller-Brown's sound-effects and music cues allows the audience to be transported to a farcical neverland."
Robert Trussell, Kansas City Star
"Much of the production's success stems directly from the efforts of the design team. Michael Benson's scenic design is flexible and tricked out with ladders, platforms, and a trap door that figures prominently into the final minutes of the show. The combination of Shane Rowse's ever shifting lighting plot and sound designer Donna Miller-Brown's sound-effects and music cues allows the audience to be transported to a farcical neverland."
Robert Trussell, Kansas City Star
"Ruddigore"
Act 1
Ruddigore, Ohio Light Opera
"(Michael Benson's) set is well designed and does its job admirably. We get the feel of a big city theatre when the mast of the tall ship sails into view, and the change for Act II is a clever backdrop for the ghostly chorus of Ruthven's ancestors."
Ellen Pill, The Daily Record
"Set designer Michael Benson and lighting designer Erich Keil are to be congratulated for their creation of two completely antithetical yet equally breathtaking sets, especially the Picture Gallery, in which the ghost come and go from their frames with barely a puff of smoke."
Tami Lange Mosser, Wooster Weekly News
"(Michael Benson's) set is well designed and does its job admirably. We get the feel of a big city theatre when the mast of the tall ship sails into view, and the change for Act II is a clever backdrop for the ghostly chorus of Ruthven's ancestors."
Ellen Pill, The Daily Record
"Set designer Michael Benson and lighting designer Erich Keil are to be congratulated for their creation of two completely antithetical yet equally breathtaking sets, especially the Picture Gallery, in which the ghost come and go from their frames with barely a puff of smoke."
Tami Lange Mosser, Wooster Weekly News
"Behive"
Act II
Beehive: The 60's Musical, Penn State Centre Stage
"And even before Act II's opening song, there is hearty applause when the upstage backdrop curtains (closed during Act I) swing open to reveal silhouettes of the five-piece band, each perched in its own compartment surrounded by chaser lights. Beehive always is a visual delight with many wigs and costume changes, colorful lighting patterns and bright platforms where the Beehive sextet prance and dance."
Jack Felix, Williamsport Sun-Gazette
"And even before Act II's opening song, there is hearty applause when the upstage backdrop curtains (closed during Act I) swing open to reveal silhouettes of the five-piece band, each perched in its own compartment surrounded by chaser lights. Beehive always is a visual delight with many wigs and costume changes, colorful lighting patterns and bright platforms where the Beehive sextet prance and dance."
Jack Felix, Williamsport Sun-Gazette
"A Little Night Music"
A Little Night Music, Spinning Tree Theatre
"The static elements of the stage were simple, yet poised in a way that added a lavishness to each scene created."
Anthony Rodgers, KCMETROPOLIS.org
"The static elements of the stage were simple, yet poised in a way that added a lavishness to each scene created."
Anthony Rodgers, KCMETROPOLIS.org
"As Long As We Both Shall Live"
As Long As We Both Shall Live, American Heartland Theatre
"...the action unfolds on a non-realistic but physically sumptous set designed by Michael G. Benson."
Robert Trussell, Kansas City Star
"...the action unfolds on a non-realistic but physically sumptous set designed by Michael G. Benson."
Robert Trussell, Kansas City Star
"Brigadoon"
Brigadoon, Ohio Light Opera
"The multi-purpose set, with its looming trees and either side of the proscenium, was properly ominous in the night, but sunny in the daylight. The stage design by Michael Benson and lighting by Erich Keil enhances every scene."
Kelly Ferjutz, clevelandclassical.com
"The multi-purpose set, with its looming trees and either side of the proscenium, was properly ominous in the night, but sunny in the daylight. The stage design by Michael Benson and lighting by Erich Keil enhances every scene."
Kelly Ferjutz, clevelandclassical.com