theatre reviews u.s.a.

a christmas carol      address unknown      aspirin and elephants       barnum       candide      
comedians 1977     comedians 2003    the invisible man      joe egg       me & my girl      the music man      
privates on parade     scapino   the taming of the shrew   travels with my aunt     
 
on to   theater reviews u.k.   jim's biography

"travels with my aunt"    1994    directed by giles havergal         minetta lane theatre, n.y.

outer critics circle award  and the drama desk award

reviewer     alvin klein     new york times
"only mr. dale plays the lustful aunt augusta. without condescending into camp or caricature - none of the actors do - mr. dale is blissfully and believably lithe (augusta is 75). in a virtuoso performance that matches in economy of gesture and power of suggestion, mr. dale, with a tilt of the chin, a brush of the hand, a precise inflection, is conducting a master class in performing art."

reviewer        christopher arnott           new haven advocate
"when dale is not observing a scene as 'henry pulling', he's stealing it as 'aunt augusta'."

reviewer    john heilpern           new york observer           
"jim dale seizes his identity as glamorous aunt augusta, literally with a flick of the wrist. he has no need of costume or wigs. he appears to be in drag without the drag: he transforms from gray henry to outrageous aunt augusta and back again, in a split second. he indulges in nothing camp. his lightning sex and personality changes are merely signaled: his exhilarating animation does the rest. mr. dale's aunt augusta is the embodiment of flamboyant vitality."
               
reviewer    ben bradley    the new york times
"that most essential and ubiquitous of accessories, the human arm, is being worn with particular flair this season by jim dale. mr. dale has on nothing more showy than a gray suit, with a faint pin stripe.  yet by merely folding one arm across his waist and resting the elbow of the other on top of it, he acquires instant sartorial splendor. mr. dale has only one role in addition to 'henry' that of the eponymous aunt, but he also provides the most glorious example of the evening's chief virtue: the endless evocative gesture that is both extravagant and economical."