Daniellla Topol director

reviews

“Under the superbly judged direction of Daniella Topol, the actors embody them with both liveliness and sensitivity.”

- Charles Isherwood, New York Times  (NY Times Critic’s Pick)
WHEN JANUARY FEELS LIKE SUMMER

“The entire cast of this ultimately very funny and moving play, directed by Daniella Topol, is topnotch, but Sandal is especially riveting as an overzealous convert to womanhood, desperate for admiration.”

- New Yorker
WHEN JANUARY FEELS LIKE SUMMER

“A great deal of credit for these five lucid, persuasive performances belongs to director Daniella Topol.  Only meticulous attention to pace, body language and facial expressions could result in such miraculous naturalism.”

-Margaret Gray, LA Times
FIVE MILE LAKE

“Adroitly directed by Daniella Topol”  

- Chicago Tribune
IRONBOUND

“The best work in progress at this stage is Martyna Majok’s powerfully presented 90-minute Ironbound, feelingly shaped by Daniella Topol”

-  Chicago Theater Beat
IRONBOUND

"Fluently directed by Daniella Topol, the play features terrific performances from all three actors and is dappled with passages that cut deeper than the surface conflict."

- Charles Isherwood, New York Times
CHARLES IVES TAKE ME HOME

"This Ma-Yi Theater Company production directed by Daniella Topol
moves quickly and has imaginative touches"

- Rachel Saltz, New York Times
JESUS IN INDIA

"under Daniella Topol’s deft direction in a convincing whirlpool of alienation and affection."

- Peter Marks, Washington Post
ANDY AND THE SHADOWS

"directed with a keen focus on the specificity of character by Daniella Topol"

– Charles Isherwood, NY Times
HOW THE WORLD BEGAN

"Daniella Topol directs this World Premiere with fire and finesse, and has elicited from her actors three of the richest performances you’re likely to see anytime soon."

– StageSceneLA
HOW THE WORLD BEGAN

"Powerful! Impeccably performed. Three pitch-perfect performers deliver three scalding monologues"

– The New York Times
PALACE OF THE END
by Judith Thompson for Epic Theatre Ensemble

“Daniella Topol has staged a lively production that displays the showmanship of a small Broadway musical.”

– New York Times
DEAD CITY
by Sheila Callaghan at New Georges

“Solidly directed by Daniella Topol”

– New York Times
SAND
by Trista Baldwin at The Women’s Project

"The...simplicity growing out of complexity (or vice versa) owes a lot to the generally unobtrusive direction of Daniella Topol. We remember her from previous affiliations with CMU and City Theatre, since then she has become a specialist in helping to birth new plays. That expertise is evident."  

- Christopher Rawson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
ELECTRIC BABY
by Stefanie Zadravec

"Daniella Topol’s staging is as brisk and knowing as the 90-minute (no intermission) script...The frictions are steadily entertaining, in part because Topol has cast the play extremely well: The acting is intelligent and light, and the play feels like it’s constantly on the move."

– Washington Post
PHOTOGRAPH 51
by Anna Ziegler at Theatre J

"Daniella Topol’s warm and personable cast brings the supporting characters...admirably to life."

– Washington City Paper
PHOTOGRAPH 51
by Anna Ziegler at Theatre J

“an obviously gifted director (Daniella Topol)...”

POOL BOY
– Gail Burns Berkshire Theater Review

 “It’s always refreshing to see brainy artists at work…“Instructions for Breathing” leaves us wanting more…
of the future work of Ms. Svich and Ms. Topol.”

– New York Times
INSTRUCTIONS FOR BREATHING
by Caridad Svich at Passage Theatre

 “Svich has an excellent director in Daniella Topol, for in lesser hands, the script could devolve into melodrama. Not at all here; Topol keeps matters simple and honest, and that exacerbates the pain.”

– The Star Ledger
INSTRUCTIONS FOR BREATHING
by Caridad Svich at Passage Theatre

“The direction of Pool Boy by Daniella Topol was masterful, with virtually nonstop action from beginning to end, no dead spots, a sure winner...”

– Berkshire Onstage
POOL BOY

“Directing is Daniella Topol, a returning City Theatre veteran who now makes a specialty of midwifing new plays. She handles this one gently.”

– Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
THE MORINI STRAD

“Director Daniela Topol’s deft and nuanced directing doesn’t miss a beat.”

– US 1 Newspaper
INSTRUCTIONS FOR BREATHING
by Caridad Svich at Passage Theatre

"Under Daniella Topol's direction, the performers go through their contortions with an admirable conviction."

– Frank Scheck, NY Post
LASCIVIOUS SOMETHING

"As the curtain call ended, a stranger said to me "That was INTENSE. I mean, God. Wow!"

– NYTheatre.com
PALACE OF THE END
by Judith Thompson for Epic Theatre Ensemble

“Daniella Topol's level-headed direction expedites the action and avoids saccharine sentimentality.”

– Pittsburgh Tribune
THE MORINI STRAD

"Sheila Callaghan isn't most playwrights—she has a much more intricate theatrical imagination, beautifully channeled here through director Daniella Topol's production—"

– Loren Noveck NYtheatre.com
LASCIVIOUS SOMETHING

“The acting is uniformly strong, Daniella Topol's direction clean and precise, and the design work impressive. “

– The Daily News
PALACE OF THE END
by Judith Thompson for Epic Theatre Ensemble

“…nicely understated and rigorously precise direction by Daniella Topol.”

– Pittsburgh City Paper
THE MORINI STRAD

“...the skilled cast, under the deft direction of Daniella Topol, makes the most of the roles.”

– Berkshire Living
POOL BOY

"Wisely, she has once again paired with the visually deft director Daniella Topol (Dead City and the eventual Water), and together they have mounted a poetically stunning, emotionally satisfying, and deeply physical play, Lascivious Something."

– Aaron Ruccio, thatsoundscool.com
LASCIVIOUS SOMETHING

 “Director Daniella Topol has assembled an adept, thoroughly professional ensemble of six and a strong production crew. She has directed with assurance, focus, and a brisk pace that delivers these ‘instructions’
— on breathing and on life — in 90 minutes without intermission.”

– Town Topics
INSTRUCTIONS FOR BREATHING
by Caridad Svich at Passage Theatre

“Baldwin’s ear for dialogue and director Daniella Topol’s sure hand
lead to many powerful sequences of rage, terror and painful confusion.”

– Time Out New York
SAND
by Trista Baldwin at The Women’s Project

"Daniella Topol crisply directs this unusual look at the duality of human nature"

– Jennifer Farrar, San Franciso Chronicle
LASCIVIOUS SOMETHING

"Carefully crafted performances filling director Daniella Topol's delicately guided production."

– Andy Propst, Backstage
LASCIVIOUS SOMETHING

"fluidly and firmly directed..."

– Philadelphia Inquirer
STRETCH: A FANTASIA

 “The timing is crucial. I credit a terrific ensemble, as well as the director, Daniella Topol.”

– CentralJersey.com
INSTRUCTIONS FOR BREATHING
by Caridad Svich at Passage Theatre

Pool Boy is hip, flashy and lively. Directed by Daniella Topol, it flies along.”

– Talkinbroadway.com
POOL BOY

"...Daniella Topol directs with ingenuity, a sure hand and an understanding of the play’s skewed perspective...Topol handily realizes some fanciful effects and summons the dreamlike atmosphere..."

– 29-95.com
MONSTER AT THE DOOR

“Still, the play's inherent problems are strongly offset by the successful efforts put into the proceedings by director Daniella Topol and the cast of six, each of them clearly sensitive to the gravity of the business at hand.”

– Theatre Mania
NIGHT SKY

“Director Daniella Topo's straightforward staging keeps the action moving smoothly on the minimal set.”

NY Daily News
NIGHT SKY

“There are laughs in Forgetting, but outweighing laughs are the number of deep breaths you’ll take as you are hit semi-truck force by the verisimilitude this emotionally-charged and wise drama presents...Other successes here include how easily Daniella Topol’s direction allows you to visualize scenes from subway cars to Coney Island despite the non-existent set.”

– David de Young, www.howwastheshow.com
FORGETTING
by Trista Baldwin

"Neatly staged by Daniella Topol"

– Time Out New York
CAROL AND JILL

"Those of a certain age will appreciate Woods' acerbic Nixon recollections, but all can connect with her spunky defiance in director Daniella Topol's witty production, with music employing typewriters and tape recorders by Broken Chord Collective."

– Philadelphia City Paper
STRETCH: A FANTASIA

"Director Daniella Topol guides a fine cast through the action, keeping the jumps through the time vortex and shifting voices of the scientific chorus cleanly delineated."

– We Love D.C.
PHOTOGRAPH 51
by Anna Ziegler at Theatre J

"...rich with laughs, especially when the performances are as grounded and dimensional as they are here under the direction of Daniella Topol."

– TheaterMania
CAROL AND JILL

"Director Daniella Topol adeptly controls the pace of the piece, giving it an air of suspense while nicely balancing the character interplays.  She handles the ending scenes with great sensitivity..."

– D.C. Theatre Scene
PHOTOGRAPH 51
by Anna Ziegler at Theatre J

“Director Topol…does a fine job placing Callaghan's flowing texture on a simple stage.”

– Variety
DEAD CITY
by Sheila Callaghan at New Georges

“The three women are crisp and effective in director Daniella Topol's production.”

– Star Tribune, Minneapolis-St. Paul
FORGETTING
by Trista Baldwin

"Director Daniella Topol has assembled a tight ensemble..."

– Two Hours Traffic
PHOTOGRAPH 51
by Anna Ziegler at Theatre J

“Director Topol has wisely kept both the staging and the performance style simple, focusing on clarity and transparency in the storytelling, and on building that rapport in both the monologues and the musical numbers.”

– NYTheatre.com
TINY FEATS OF COWARDICE
by Susan Bernfield & Rachel Peters at The NY International Fringe Festival

"In director Daniella Topol's hands, the work becomes part memory play, part testimony told in flashback...[it] ably binds together the fragments that are known of Franklin's brief life...and as a theatrical experience, it's not just for science lovers."

– Washington Jewish Week
PHOTOGRAPH 51
by Anna Ziegler Theatre J

 

Daniellla Topol director