Reviewed by Amalisha HuEck
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Masterfully written and directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Arden Teresa Lewis, the play CASSATT opened at the Theatre West, exploring the life and art of the genius impressionist Mary Stevenson Cassatt, a painter and printmaker who lived in France for most of her career. Even though she was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, in 1844, and despite her family’s opposition to her creative goals, Cassatt enrolled in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (in Philadelphia) while she was in her teens. Dissatisfied with the lack of resources and opportunities available to female students, she dropped out from school in 1865, to move to Paris. She perfected her skills as a painter of female people and their intimate life, with a focus on the close relationships between mothers and children. Cassatt has been a feminist and advocate for equal rights her whole life. Due to poor vision, she ceased painting in 1914 and died in 1926.
La Belle Epoque (The Beautiful Era) was a period where the arts flourished and reached exceptional achievements in Europe, especially in Paris, from 1871-1914. Mary Cassatt is an American treasure whose works are displayed in museums across the country, including, locally, at the Huntington.
Produced by Garry M. Kluger & Theatre West for the Theatre West Writers-in-Residence program, this production touched me deeply – it is one of the best plays I’ve seen at this theatre. I truly enjoyed it.
Amazingly acted the play catches the French accent greatly and gives us the sense who these people were in 1800’s and how they were thinking. ‘In an age when men dominated the world, Mary Cassatt made her mark in the salons of Paris, alongside great masters like Degas and Renoir. Her paintings celebrated the dignity and deeper meaning of women’s inner lives.’
The talented cast of Cassatt includes Samantha Gregory as Mary Cassatt, Cecil Jennings as Degas/Eakins, Saratoga Ballantine as Katherine Cassatt/Caillebotte, Kathie Barnes as Mathilde, Alexandria Sanders as Servant/Berthe Morisot, Caroline Quigley as Lydia Cassatt, Lily Cadot as Suzanne/Susan/Child Model/Marie Braquemond, Briana Burnside as Eliza Halderman/Louisine, Walter Rodriguez as Vollard/Howard Roberts/Renoir, and Daniel Korth as Robert Cassatt/Pissaro/Harry Havemeyer. Wonderful job everyone!
The costume designer Salette Corpuz did a wonderful job finding all these exceptional costumes, so appropriate to the period, unique in style, and very pleasing to an eye. Even the lighting design created by Charlie Mount and Garry Kluger was slightly different, more engaging. The stage Manager was Sarah Acuna.
Production Supervisor and Set Design are successfully done by Jeff G. Rack, using the stage in the best possible way. The projection on seven picture frames is wonderful and gave the audience the taste of Cassatt as an artist.
Established in 1962, Theatre West is celebrating its 64th year as the oldest continually running professional theatre company in the city of Los Angeles.
The new play CASSATT invites you to gain insight into the life, art, and creativity of this extraordinary individual. Its run is from May 29 – June 28 2026, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 3:00 pm, at Theatre West, 3333 Cahuenga Blvd. West, in Los Angeles, CA 90068. Admission is $30 online, and $40 at the door.
Reservations can be made at Theatre West by calling 323-851-4839. Online ticketing is available: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cassatt-tickets-1984650603380