“deeply honest performances from Patricia Zentilli and Tess Benger” Nina Legess, TheGatewayOnline

 

 

 

 

 

 

Colin MacLean reviews Mamma Mia!

“Edmontonian Zentilli plays Donna as a one-time proto-feminist and free spirit, and her embarrassment at being found out 20 years later is made deliciously awkward. Zentilli combines that with her lifetime of steely resolve to make a life for herself and her daughter and this fine singer-actor gives us a fully fleshed out character. She also sings with a full-throated and crystalline voice. The two performers have some real chemistry which makes the wedding dress scene, as the two celebrate each other, particularly moving.” Colin MacLean, GigCity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anna Borowiecki reviews the opening night of Mamma Mia!

 “The undisputed star is Patricia Zentilli as Donna, the icon of female independence who betrays her loneliness, broken heart and fears in the softer, slow-tempo One of Us.” Anna Borowiecki, St. Albert Gazette. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 “Mamma Mia! star shares life lessons inspired by musical theatre.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 “PattyZee@TheRoxy: Theatre Network launches a new cabaret series. ‘Music and storytelling merge at close range!’ Actor/singer Patricia Zentilli, one of the country’s most accomplished cabaret artists, says that’s the closest she can come to a definition of cabaret.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 “’I think I’d make a very good astronaut,’” says the 15-year-old math whiz/ stargazer hero of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, opening the Citadel’s 51st season in an original Canadian première co-produced with the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre….Patricia Zentilli turns in a beautiful performance as Christopher’s wayward absent mother, longing for and terrified by her relationship with a boy who finds consolation in sequences of prime numbers. The moment she pleads with him to just hold her hand, and he refuses, will break your heart.”

 

 

 

 

 

“Zentilli breaks hearts . “Zentilli gives a lovely, fine-tuned, detailed performance as the more vulnerable Cathy. We see a character driven but not quite hard enough, persistent but not quite single-mindedly enough, to pursue success in the crazy cutthroat world of musical theatre. Zentill’s delivery of Climbing Uphill, in a sequence peppered with failed auditions, is funny and touching, as are the complex ironies she brings to Summer in Ohio. The performance is wistful without being sentimental.”

“Magnetic performers give The Last Five Years its heart and heartache.” “Zentilli and Baumung… luminous and charismatic.” “Zentilli gives a lovely, fine-tuned, detailed performance as the more vulnerable Cathy. We see a character driven but not quite hard enough, persistent but not quite single-mindedly enough, to pursue success in the crazy cutthroat world of musical theatre. Zentill’s delivery of Climbing Uphill, in a sequence peppered with failed auditions, is funny and touching, as are the complex ironies she brings to Summer in Ohio. The performance is wistful without being sentimental.”

“The two performers (Patricia Zentilli and Jeremy Baumung in The Last Five Years) have lovely voices and develop strong and appealing characters. And what a good idea it was to place Eric Mortimer’s sonorous trio in the middle of the theatre. The intimacy of the sound amplifies the intimacy of the story.” 

“At a theatre whose profile was chiselled in new and new-ish Canadian plays, no one would have predicted The Last Five Years would be launching the company’s 41st season Friday. But then again, no one would have predicted “The Last Year” at Theatre Network either. They were flung out into the world by the devastating fire that razed the vintage Roxy Theatre last January; they were sheltered in unexpected venues; now they find themselves ensconced (for as long as the Roxy re-build takes) in Catalyst’s old warehouse theatre in Strathcona, re-dubbed Roxy on Gateway.”

“This is the second time Patricia has taken on the role of Cathy, the first being at the Manitoba Theatre Centre. In talking to Patricia, it’s clear she loves The Last Five Years – revisiting the show has been on her mind since moving to Edmonton and meeting her now co-star, Jeremy Baumung. “When I first moved to Edmonton, I heard Jeremy sing and I thought he would make a great Jamie, so I messaged him on Facebook and said, ‘Do you know this show? You should get the soundtrack – we’ve gotta find a way to make this happen.’ So, we’ve kind of been talking about [doing the show] for the last few years…”

“The four performers are all first-rate singers and actors. The group numbers have a great blend in spite of the actors’ differing vocal qualities in their solo numbers. Patricia Zentilli is especially effective in ‘Patterns’ and ‘I’m Not Complaining,’ and Leon Willey does a great job on ‘One of the Good Guys,’ one of my favorites.”

“In one of the more elaborate numbers, Patricia Zentilli plays a female zoologist who complains about the male species in the song ‘The Bear, the Tiger, the Hamster and the Mole’. Like a soul possessed / I have studied and assessed / The creatures of this earth / And from moose to eel / What my studies most reveal / Is the male’s inflated worth.”

“Zentilli is a wonderful Mabel, sparky and animated, full of charm … The actor has one of those vivid musical theatre voices with angles to it. And in her knock-out delivery of Time Heals Everything, we feel the harshness of the edges, and heartbreaking depths that anchor it.”

Patricia Zentilli and Patti Loach are one of the dynamic duos of this city’s cabaret scene, making beautiful (and often hilarious) music to the delight of audiences.

The duo of talented blondes took a receptive audience through an hour long journey in the life of a modern woman, more or less, using show tunes, theatrical bits and banter. Some of it was autobiographical and some just whimsical, a thread that connected tunes on topics as diverse as babysitters and zoology. All of it was held together by the engaging characters of the ladies. Her hands deftly occupied with providing the sparkling musical accompaniment, Loach was the more sophisticated older woman to Patricia’s often sweet and vulnerable stage presence, both her spoken and sung lines showing an impressive range of hitting emotional notes along with a nice comedic touch.

Cabaret duo has act down pat When your cup runneth over, you have only two choices: drinketh or spilleth. Unfortunately, no matter how thirsty you are for great musical entertainment, there’s no way you’ll be able to sample more than a fraction of the 62 events being presented between this Thursday and Sunday at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts as part of the Canwest Cabaret Festival. The event was an out-of-the-gate triumph in its opening session last year and artistic director Albert Schultz has put together an even more dazzling assortment of material this year. The work of songwriters ranging from Stevie Wonder to the Breithaupt Brothers and from Joni Mitchell to Rodgers and Hart are all on display and the performing artists include the varied likes of Brent Carver, John Alcorn, Molly Johnson and Melanie Doane. 

You’d almost be forgiven if you just decided to take a sleeping bag down to the inviting Young Centre and settled in for the weekend, although some authority figures might tend to frown. But if you’d allow me to make one recommendation, I’d encourage you to drop by The Tank House on Saturday at 3:45 p.m. to catch the truly dynamic duo of Patricia Zentilli and Patti Loach (or “Patty with a Y and Patti with an I” as they’re sometimes called) when they present their original and winning cabaret entertainment, The Shopping Cart of Love. Loach is a chameleon of the keyboard, playing brilliantly in so many different styles I sometimes feel she should be checked out for multiple personality disorder. And Zentilli is one of the true musical theatre originals, whose voice can channel into song the gamut of human experience from hilarity to heartbreak. I spoke to the two of them on a recent break from rehearsal. Well, I tried to speak. It’s hard to get a word in edgewise with this pair. Patti: I’m really excited about the Danny Kaye tribute with Don Francks and Albert Schultz. Patty: I always think Sharron Matthews is so wonderful. And Patricia O’Callaghan? Please! I’m honoured we share the same first name. Patti: I like the diversity in this festival … ethnic, jazz, musicals. Song is song and good music is good music. You don’t have to pigeonhole. Patty: What makes our piece a cabaret? You only need three ingredients: a piano, a singer and an audience. And all three are equal partners. Patti: As a musician, I think of cabaret as kind of a sonata form. Exposition, development and recapitulation. We have a roadmap to guide us through our show. We may stray from it depending on what the audience may give us. It’s not just a shopping list. Patty: No, it’s a shopping cart! We got the title, The Shopping Cart of Love from a Christine Lavin song, because I thought those are two things I can talk about: shopping and love. Yeah. When I’m miserable in love, I go shopping. Patti: I enjoy the fact that I get to play songs from a terrific bunch of writers like Jason Robert Brown, Jim Cuddy and John Bucchino. With material like that, the juice is worth the squeeze. Patty: Cabaret is coming back in this town and why not? It’s entertaining and inexpensive. These concerts are each only $20. Patti: Maybe they’re inexpensive here, but in New York, I went to hear Victoria Clark at Feinstein’s and by the time I got out, the Visa bill was $250. Patty: Has your husband seen the bill yet? Patti: No. Patty: Good. Keep it hidden until after we finish our show. I need you alive.

A duo so lovely it took my breath away. A funny, touching, and heartbreaking array of songs played with such vulnerability … Patricia’s voice sounds like it comes from another time, so , humour and sometimes, pain. And Patti matches her every move – they make it look as easy as breathing together. Seeing these two perform live is lovely magic.

You were all sparkling! May I join the throng of admirers who are sending congratulations for an outstanding performance last night at the Old Mill?  It was a tour de force! Patti Loach on piano was with Patricia at all times,  leading and following, and sometimes seeming to be in her pocket!  The material was well chosen and just jumped with energy and fun. I especially enjoyed the “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” background and I was glad that you included it. Patricia was natural. She gave of herself with that gorgeous voice, and she was, at all times, musical.

Two sublimely talented women – Patti Loach and Patricia Zentilli – join forces for an evening rich with humour, passion and love for the American Songbook and Musical Theatre. Loach, an accomplished pianist and self-confessed cabaret enthusiast, performs regularly with Opera Diva Jean Stilwell in their production of Carmen Unzipped which was a highlight of the 2007 TD Canada Trust Jazz Festival Cabaret Series. Patricia Zentilli has performed musical theatre across the country, and she is well known for her performance of Susan on Global Television’s ‘The Jane Show’. Their show exhibits their love of a good tune, their appreciation of a quirky lyric and their unrelenting belief that cabaret, like champagne, needs to be researched, savoured and enjoyed whenever possible.

Patricia Zentilli aces every one of the great cuts on her ‘Pull Me Through’ album.

Patricia Zentilli, who knows everything there is to know about delivering a musical theatre ballad like Nothing Is Too Wonderful To Be True, plays their mark, soap queen Christine Colgate, wholesome, blond, American and loaded. She knows how to move those goody two-shoes of hers. Delish.

Patricia Zentilli and Steven Gallagher are among 10 amazing actors.

Zentilli mimics the essence of Greene, but brings her own comic take on the character, projects a kind of tawdry vulnerability and has a better voice than the original.