WORSE THAN TIGERS
by Mark Chrisler
The Mill Theatre at
The New Ohio
“Zach Wegner as Kurt is a cannonball shot out of a carnival sideshow. His Kurt bounces off the walls avoiding boredom whilst ‘spraying’ in all of the corners to mark his ‘territory.’ Wegner has a huge presence and his character takes up the entire space, pushing the other characters up against the walls of their own making. His physical characterization is hilarious as he stampedes around the apartment asserting himself on top of the food chain. He literally brings the lifeblood back into the dried up veins of the married couple.”
Jacqueline Claire
“Worse Than Tigers takes its place in the theatrical tradition that includes Ionesco’s absurdist theater with a touch of Pinteresque dialogue and a bit of Albee’s George and Martha from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? thrown in.”
“In bursts Officer Kirk Patrick, Olivia’s lover, played by Zach Wegner with an exuberant sexual power that frightens Humphry and arouses Olivia out of their stupor. He, along with the ever-present threat of the tiger, dispels the prevalent lethargy of their lives.”
Elizabeth Bove
“An affecting look at one dysfunctional heterosexual marriage alternates between hyper-realism and absurdity to illustrate what happens when we distance ourselves from what we’re feeling.
Early in Worse Than Tigers, husband Humphrey (played with self-deprecating humor and tremendous emotional restraint by the excellent Braeson Herold) tells his wife’s macho lover Kurt (a swaggering, physically imposing, Zach Wegner), that he does not get angry. “It’s a negative emotion,” Humphrey explains. Indeed, Humphrey eats only egg whites, worries about cholesterol, and is everything that Kurt is not: patient, attentive, eager to please, and so damned boring that Olivia (a terrific Shannon Marie Sullivan), his wife of many years, is willing to flaunt her infidelity with Kurt in order to puncture her spouse’s always-calm exterior.”
Eleanor J Bader
“Four and a Half Stars”
“…the performance (directed by Jaclyn Biskup) is as gripping as a tiger’s claws, and the simply beautiful and metaphorical set (Matt Carlin, Caspin Jones and Kate Ducey) and coordinated costumes (Kristy Hall) are the best we’ve seen at the New Ohio Theatre.”
“Worse Than Tigers is amusingly absurdist and patently symbolist, yet on another level grittily real. That’s thanks in part to sharply defined performances by the excellent cast, marshaled efficiently by director Jaclyn Biskup. Its style calls other great playwrights to mind, and its plot resonates with classic dramas by the likes of Sam Shepard and Edward Albee. But Chrisler has found a distinct mode of his own, and this production serves him well.”
Jon Sobel
"Zach's portrayal of Officer Patrick is near maniacal, entertaining and unpredictable. A shocking and stunning performance of an officer, seemingly bipolar who is not in the brink of reality, but still holding on by a thread."
Stage Buddy
“Sullivan runs the gamut of emotions, but it isn’t until her final monologue that she shows just what an amazing actress she is. Pealing down to the core of her rawest emotions it is clear this is an actress to watch. Herold’s nerd who is completely out of touch with his feelings, also strips down to the core of his being. Wegner is the perfect foe for this duo, as he preens and dominates but plays with his prey until the challenge has worn off.”
Suzanna Bowling
“Herold, Sullivan, and Wegner form a fierce ensemble whose commitment to the style of the play they’re in at any given moment is complete…”
Jody Christopher
"Wegner's performance invites us to laugh at Kurt's id-driven brashness, but he also brings a palpable sense of danger to the role. All three actors skillfully play off one another as fast-paced comic sparring partners..."
Leah Richards
THE GLASS MENAGERIE
by Tennessee Williams
The Hypocrites
“Finally, Zach Wegner embodies perfectly the cheerful arrogance that masks Jim’s deep insecurities and brings charm and vivacity to the role.”
Jessie Bond
Chicago Splash
“Wegner, whose portrayal of Jim was the most delightfully surprising for me, brings out a depth and understated sorrow in Jim that gives his character a tragic aspect I had never before considered.”
August Lysy
Chicago Critic
“This exceptional production's fine cast…”
Dan Jakes
Chicago Reader
“Zach Wegner, balancing genuine affection and a practiced slickness…”
Lauren Sheely
Chicago Stage Standard
“The four actors make up a strong cast…”
Nancy Bishop
Third Coast Review
HOT STEAMS
by Zach Wegner
The New York International Fringe
& The Planet Connections Theatre Festival
Nominated “Best Actor”
The Planet Connections Theater Festival 2012
“The wordy yet fast-paced Hot Steams begins with a pantsless man in a Santa suit (Braeson Herold) passed out on the floor of a jail cell, in a pool of his own vomit. When he wakes, with no memory of his identity or the actions that landed him there, he finds that he’s been paired with an eccentric accused murderer (Zach Wegner, who also wrote the play). The two build an unlikely friendship over poetry books and a mysterious long-distance lover—even as “Santa” is goaded by an antsy officer (Garrett Neergaard) to give up information that could lead to his cellmate’s conviction. Strong chemistry among the actors, directed by Jaclyn Biskup, lets the audience dive into their world as the plot steams ahead.”
Alexandra Early
Time Out New York
“The bulk and heart of the show is the intellectual, intricate discourse between Sleeping and Awake, which is sometimes very funny and sometimes inspired.”
“…like Kafka channeled through the HAL 9000.”
“Would I see it again? Certainly.”
Everett Goldner
New York Theater Now
A SLIGHT ACHE
by Harold Pinter
Cellar Door Theater Company
at Under St. Mark’s
“…the husband played brilliantly by Zach Wegner…Wegner’s Edward, with his neurotic tics and squinty gaze, portrays the ideal of the tired English intellectual, bored and irritated by his own existence. As his musty Brit accent dissolves into gibberish in his final monologue to the Matchseller, he manages to not only convey one man’s slippery slide into self-negation but also humanity’s false-confidence and inherent nihilism.”
T. Nikki Caesar
Off-Off-Online
“Wegner's performance showed an energy and fury that, properly tapped, have great promise.”
John Chatterton
Off-Off-Broadway Review
LOOT
by Joe Orton
The Westport Country Playhouse
“...the ensemble’s performances are splendid...”
Anita Gates
The New York Times
“...spirited...well acted...Wegner is intriguing...”
Chesley Plemmons
Curtain Up
“Wegner is an ideal foil...”
Sherry Shammer Cohen
Broadway World
“Norik and Wegner understand the bisexual spin Orton has given Hal and Dennis and gleefully embrace all their contradictions...”
Tom Holehan
Minuteman News Center
NEVER THE SINNER
by John Logan
Theater Works
“Jackob Hofmann and Zach Wegner turned in powerful performances as the infamous young 1920s murderers "Babe" Leopold and "Dickie" Loeb.”
Gail Thorson
New Milford Spectrum
“Great performances by Jackob Hoffman and Zach Wegner as the famed murderers were the highlights of the show.”
John Nelson
Mid Hudson Central
THE DEEP THROAT SEX SCANDAL
by David Bertolino & Jerry Douglas
45 Bleecker
“...Zach Wegner is suitably creepy.”
Adam Feldman
Time Out New York
“Zach Wegner bringing plenty of chilling creepiness to this character.”
Elyse Sommer
Curtain Up
“As Lovelace’s oppressive husband, Zach Wegner is sometimes over-the-top although he shines in his quieter roles, particularly in his court scene as Tony Bill.”
Ron S. Covar,
Best of Off Broadway
“Zach Wegner’s performance as Chuck Traynor, Linda’s manager/husband is chilling. He professes love, but the way Wegner makes you believe he is getting off on watching his wife have sex is both uncomfortable and nasty, and makes the creepiness and vile nature of this man who abused his wife seem real. It is a stunning performance.”
Kevin Clarke
Blogger
THE OTHER DAY
by Mark Jason Williams
Planet Connections Theater Festival
at The Robert Moss Theatre
“Adding to this compelling play was a talented cast of 4, Lars D. Drew, Amadeo Fusca, Zach Wegner, Elena Zazanis...”
Adam Adaumbellesquest adaumbellesquest.com
“Zach Wegner, who comes to us following The Deep Throat Sex Scandal, charms the pants off the audience, and makes them laugh and cry with one shot.”
Byrne Harrison
gaytheatrenyc.blogspot.com
Nominated “Outstanding Featured Actor” Planet Connections Theater Festival 2011
GOD STEELING
by Charles Cissel
Theater 54
“The illusion of theater seems to fall away as you watch these actors...”
Joe Meyers
Hearst Media Group