The 39 Steps
“Suspense and silliness abound! … playfully tongue-in-cheek [with] a lot of imagination and plenty of laughs!” - ErinMarie Reiter, Broadway World San Diego
“Absolutely brilliant… Hilarious!” - Elizabeth Youngman-Westphal, Village News
“[This] delicious little caper… boggles the imagination! An excellent production… deftly directed by AJ Knox” - Carol Davis, SD Theatre Critics Circle
“Fast-paced and consistently comedic… a terrifically funny evening of theatre!” - David Dixon, San Diego Story
DOUBT: A PARABLE
“Shocking” and “Profound” … “tautly directed [and] performed by a cast of four who fully inhabit their multifaceted characters… Riveting performances!” - Pam Kragen, The San Diego Union-Tribune
“Absorbing and suggestive… In the final scene, [Knox and Pappas] go at each other with a desperate conviction that nails the audience to their seats.” Dan Zeff, Stage & Cinema
“Ultra-tense peak theater… [it leaves the audience] sitting forward, leaning on every word.” - David Coddon, Stage West
Singin’ in the Rain
“Exudes energy and joy! … joyful enough for two musicals!” - David Coddon, The San Diego Union-Tribune
“Lovingly directed by AJ Knox… the show sizzles from start to finish!” - Jenni Prisk, Scene by Jenni Prisk
“Delightful… entertaining… charming… A joyful, carefree celebration of romance and art!.” - Cassiopeia Guthrie, On the Craft
“a very entertaining and tap-happy musical experience from the talented cast… After the colorful and charming final number, you will walk out humming and wishing for some rain in the forecast.” - E. H. Reiter, BroadwayWorld
San Diego Union-Tribune Review: At New Village Arts, talented musical duo bring killer chops to ‘Murder for Two’
CRITIC’S CHOICE
A “ wildly paced romp… Sharing the credit for the show’s success is director AJ Knox, who has crafted a hilarious, fluid, fast-paced, audience-interactive show chock full of visual humor and big-finish moments that pop.
“Knox has infused the show with homages to detective films from the past as well as musical theater tropes. The show is continuously funny, and not just to the audience. Dumas and Houck cracked each other up several times on Saturday night. The show also ends on a high with a blazing-fast four-handed piano encore.”
Praise for AJ Knox in AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
“Inspector Fix… must have trained under France’s most revered Inspector Clouseau. AJ Knox envelops his character without a speck of dignity. His performance is faultless…. A stand-out!” – Elizabeth Youngman, The Village News
“AJ Knox has just the right comic tone as the misguided Inspector Fix!” – Pam Kragen, The San Diego Union-Tribune
Knox is an “audience favorite [as] the bumbling Scotland Yard Inspector Fix. Not only did Knox have a great singing voice, but he has a flair for comedy, presenting the one-step-behind Inspector with perfect timing.” – Tom Robertson, The Vista Press
“Aptly bumbling [and] amusing!” – Pat Launer, Times of San Diego
“Knox is a hoot with his hilarious acting, singing and dancing!” – David Dixon, San Diego Story
“All three [leads] are balanced nicely by AJ Knox’s earnest and yet somewhat hapless Inspector Fix whose comedic turns with Passepartout raise the humor of the show. One of the quartet’s best moments come in the surprisingly lyrical “Sledge Ride” scene in which all four sing of their hopes of completing their tasks as they race by sledge to New York. One of the most touching numbers in the show, it’s Andrew Lloyd Weber-like in its beauty.” – Rebecca Romani, Vanguard Culture
“AJ Knox [is Fix] in a perfect role that suits him comfortably… If you combined Colombo, Inspectors Clouseau and Poirot, Knox is their heir apparent. He hides behind newspapers, peeks around corners and is, in general a royal pain in the arse.” – Carol Davis, San Diego Theatre Critic’s Circle
San Diego Union-Tribune Review: Fresh ideas help New Village Arts’ ‘Little Shop Of Horrors’ blossom
CRITIC’S CHOICE
“The musical spoof “Little Shop of Horrors” is approaching middle age, but a freshly imagined production that opened Saturday at New Village Arts theater in Carlsbad has made it ageless…
… director AJ Knox’s production at New Village is gender-blind and color-blind, and its alien man-eating plant Audrey II is now entirely unteathered. With a strong-singing cast and wildly creative costumes by Amanda Quivey, it’s fun, creative and lighthearted entertainment with a heart.”
San Diego Union-Tribune Review: Antic, frantic ‘Servant of Two Masters’ is mad for laughs at New Village Arts
“Quick question: Do you have a head?
If so, best leave it at home before attending “The Servant of Two Masters” at New Village Arts, because otherwise there’s a good chance you’ll laugh it right off.
Also, truth be told, for this show you won’t really be needing it.
That’s no knock on the Carlsbad company’s mad, whacked-out, anything-for-a-laugh adaptation of a classic Italian play: When it comes to low comedy, this “Servant” holds the banner high — a word that conceivably also could describe the creators’ mental state when they were writing it…
Samantha Ginn and AJ Knox, the work’s adapters, know their way around, through and underneath (sometimes way underneath) a joke, and their capable cast seems completely game for this exercise in supreme silliness.”
“Best San Diego Theatre of 2019” - James Hebert, The San Diego Union-Tribune
Honorable Mention, “Best San Diego Theatre of 2019” - Critic David Dixon
San Diego Union-Tribune Review: ‘Avenue Q’ proves to be right up New Village Arts’ alley
CRITIC’S CHOICE
“[If] time and changing tastes have turned “Avenue Q” into some kind of cultural cul de sac, New Village Arts Theatre is here to prove very much otherwise.
The Carlsbad company has opened its own winning revival of the puppet-centric musical comedy, one that preserves the show’s irreverence while smartly tweaking a few elements to 2018 tastes.
… director A.J. Knox’s crisp, well-cast and well-rehearsed production brings just the right breezy feel to this piece about the dreamers and misfits and fuzzy monsters who populate a downscale New York neighborhood.”
Five San Diego Theatre Critics Circle 2018 Craig Noel Award Nominations:
Outstanding Resident Musical
Outstanding Direction of a Musical: AJ Knox
Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical, Male: Zackary Scot Wolfe (win)
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical, Female: Cashae Monya
Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical, Male: Tony Houck