Greta Wohlrabe

“It’s (Lumbly’s) a brilliant performance, matched at every step by the evolving care, confidence and concern of Wohlrabe’s Maria.”

“The pilot in this superb Cardinal Stage Company production, was stunningly played by Greta Wohlrabe. During the approximate 75-minute duration of the engrossing drama, Wohlrabe deftly portrayed her character’s constantly shifting emotions. Ranging from fearlessly tough to blissful and from cocksure to fragile, Wohlrabe played them with seemingly little or no effort. It was a performance that was nearly seamless and one which deeply connected Wohlrabe to a captivated audience. ”

“It’s worth the trip for Indianapolis theatergoers because Greta Wohlrabe, under the direction of Stephen John, gives a masterful portrayal of The Pilot. You forget that you are watching an actor. She tells her story in present tense from a small platform in the tiny Rose Fireball black box space in the Waldron Arts Center. You feel as if you are living The Pilot’s journey with her. ”

“... is nearly overtaken in the charisma department by Greta Wohlrabe as Rosalind’s devoted cousin Celia. With her wide-eyed brashness, Wohlrabe is clearly a gifted comic actor and every moment she’s onstage, she elevates the comic quotient.”

“Greta Wohlrabe plays Rosalind’s cousin Celia, and it is fascinating to see her paired with Mark Anderson Phillips playing Orlando’s repenting older brother Oliver. (In ‘Merry Wives’, they played Mistress Page and Master Ford, respectively.) Here, their chemistry rivals that of the main couple and their giddy humor becomes infectious.”

“Cross Laverne and Shirley with Lucille Ball and Carole Burnett, and you have the flashy duo of Coffey and Wohlrabe, who dispatch the men-husbands, village idiots, and of course Sir John—with impeccable timing and obvious relish.”

“‘Venus in Fur’ is evidence that you can take a mediocre story and dazzle an audience if you cast the right actress. Wohlrabe is a stunning performer who lit up the stage from the moment she walked in and never stopped. Her ability to play a wildly bawdy ditzy blonde and in a microsecond transform into a sexy seductress was mesmerizing. This is Wohlrabe’s stage.”

“Wohlrabe’s performance is captivating. She never lands anywhere long enough for us to get a good reading on who Vanda really is. She is ferocious and manipulative in one moment, brilliant and wise the next. Then scattered. Or incisive. Whatever she chooses, she is like the character in the book — absolutely in charge. ”

“This is a funny, provocative script, and Wohlrabe’s performance as Vanda is masterful and highly entertaining ... Greta has total command of the role of Vanda, from ditzy, often-brazen actress, to cool, sophisticated mistress. She switches between these with whip-smart speed, keeping PJ Sosko’s Thomas constantly off balance ... So it’s revenge, with a lot of prickly dialogue — contemporary, crude, literate and historic — and some flat-out funny moments, mostly deriving from Wohlrabe’s quicksilver changes from erudite to erotic and eccentric. It doesn’t hurt that she’s gorgeous, too, and as she accrues more and more qualities that suggest she’s not quite a run-of-the-mill actress, her march to the show’s climax is both convincing and deftly entertaining. ”

“Even as her Vanda initially caters to Thomas’ stereotypes — treating us to variations on the theme of actress as ditz — there’s a steely edginess to her performance ... Wohlrabe’s simultaneously darker take on Vanda plays to her strengths as an actor, raising the emotional stakes — as well as the temperature in this play’s many sexy scenes ... Wohlrabe takes this character and this play to places I didn’t think either could go. The “Venus” that won Nina Arianda a Tony was both a lot of fun and intellectually bracing. But it didn’t dive as deeply as this production does. ”

“Wohlrabe takes the role of Vanda to an unexpected and thrilling level ... Hers is a towering performance, ranging with the delicious humor of Vanda the struggling actor to the aristocratic vamp of Vanda the character. She has a body and face to die for, and an unmistakable gift for physical comedy. But she can be aloof without being stuffy and cutting without the hard edge of cruelty. We can only hope that she stays here in Wisconsin, but I fear New York may beckon, and she will be gone. ”

“Ives has great fun with Vanda’s ability to slip into character at the drop of a hat (or the snap of a birch switch), and Wohlrabe makes the most of it. [They] understand this is the fun at the heart of Ives’ play — and it pays off again and again when the audience reacts to Vanda’s sudden transition from smooth seductress to airhead actress ... [They] know exactly how to play this game, pacing the evolving relationship just right and finding just the right details to keep the audience both rapt and slightly off-kilter. It strikes just the right balance between Ives big ideas and his clever mind games. After the final surprising moment, it still leaves you aching for me.”

“‘There are so many sides to this character, and Greta has a really wide range,’ Gordon said. ‘She can be engaging — the kind of personality that draws people in. But she has has real depth. She is funny and lovable, but she is also smart.’ ‘All of these characters [those that Greta has played in the past few years] have a lot of layers to them, requiring an actress that’s going to dig deep and not be afraid of what she finds. They’re characters that aren’t saints. Greta is attracted to darker, thornier characters. I understand that, because those are the characters I’ve always been drawn to as an actor. I learn more from them.’ ”

“As the sexual catalyst, Vanda is the production’s more distinctive role (even more so in the wake of her original portrayer, Nina Arianda, precociously winning a Tony for the part last year), and Gordon says Wohlrabe is more than up to the challenge of playing this charismatic chameleon of a role.”

“Enter the lovely Vanda, or Greta Wohlrabe, who in the performance alternates between being a typical “light-weight” blonde and a very astute, professional actress trying to read the role for the disbelieving Thomas. The provocative contrast heightens every conversation and confrontation portrayed in the play so the audience questions what is femininity and how does society prefer their women? Throughout ... Thomas and Vanda ignite a burning desire in their hearts and then evocatively fire the body and soul for the audience ... The stellar production holds too many subtle concepts to share in a short review. An electric 90 minutes a plethora of ideas worth contemplating after experiencing this highly intellectual production disguised as stunning entertainment. Madigan and Wohlrabe seduce the audience in this fascinating portrayal of masculine and feminine, love and power, exploring the dynamics between these relationships and how this “plays” out on the stage and everyday life. ”

“Wohlrabe delivers a masterful performance, deftly flitting between her two characters of modern actress and 19th-century aristocrat ... the play boils down to a shimmering repartee between two ardent personalities, vying for dominance — sexual, psychological and philosophical. The results are brilliant because they make the audience self-conscious in the best sense.”

“It’s a tough role for even a seasoned actor to pull off; much less an actor who needs to by 20-ish and voluptuous (Wohlrabe certainly fits the bill in this department) ... Wohlrabe is maddeningly funny as she frequently goes ‘off character’.”

“Reese and Greta have crackling chemistry. Wohlrabe is a true rising star. In ‘Venus’, she transforms believably) and comically) from high-strung, ill-prepared actress to the coyly flirtatious 19th century woman Thomas imagines he created.”

“Great performances include turns by Gerard Neugent as an unhappy neighbor, Greta Wohlrabe as a flaky blonde, Marti Gobel as the maid and Grant Goodman as the weak-kneed minister.”

“The cast is sublime; it is difficult to imagine this play performed more perfectly. ”

“BEST PERFORMANCE IN A PLAY: GRETA WOHLRABE was luminous as Kyra, the troubled loved in ‘Skylight’, which was revived with piercing sensitivity by Wisconsin’s American Players Theater.”

“APT knows how to spot and cultivate up-and-comers, and Ms. Wohlrabe, who made her company debut last year, is a formidably gifted artist who, like Carrie Coon before her, oozes star quality. you can read her feelings off her face as easily as you can the temperature off a king-size thermometer. Not that there are any weak links in this sensitive staging of ‘Skylight’ but it’s Ms. Wohlrabe’s passionate acting that will stay with you.”

“Wohlrabe — good opposite Mani in Renaissance Theaterworks’ recent production of ‘Honor’ — is simply outstanding here. Wohlrabe’s Kyra can be edgy and sarcastic as she tries to protect herself. She betrays fear and confusion at the realization of how much she still loves — and how vulnerable she therefore is. She is nostalgic and rueful about what she has lost. And, much like the titular skylight, she projects an idealistic hope that things might get better, both for herself and her broken country. Beneath this wide spectrum of emotion, Wohlrabe’s Kyra also has an inner resilience that allows her to credibly stand up to Tom, holding her own — as she must — while the two of them fight and love their way into the night and toward the dawn ... When we’re as brave and honest together as these go-for-broke actors are with each other, what we say is always both, ensuring that there’s much more than easily downed pasta on the table — including food for thought that sticks to the bones and grows up inside you, long after the lights come down. ”

“I also caught director John Langs’ well-acted indoor production of Hare’s ‘Skylight’, an intellectually nutritious if rather depressing play about the meeting of two older lovers ... an uncommonly resonant drama ... If Wohlrabe, a tough, round-faced actress, can’t make too much of Maria, she makes far more of Hare’s Kyra, a ‘Skylight’ character who has chosen to live modestly and expend her formidable intellect on kids whom other have written off. The key to this woman is to show us both the self-satisfactions of choosing to be an idealist and the endless pull of living an easier, more sensorial life — as manifested by the appeal of a rich, older man, played with the right amount of a successful man’s confidence, if not quite enough pain and insecurity, by the skilled Mani. Wohlrabe dances on that particular knife edge (one we all know, regardless of where our lives finally landed) and reveals that those condemned forever to dance on the blade face the sharpest cuts of all. After a couple of hours of that Olympian angst, the bite of a gymnastic Wisconsin mosquito feels positively benign. ”

“Greta Wohlrabe, an APT apprentice last year, steps up to a leading role as Kyra and proves herself equal as a sparring partner with APT core company actor Brian Mani. Together, they believably navigate the fundamental compatibility/incompatability of their characters.”

“Wohlrabe was a Milwaukee Rep intern in 2010-11, and played opposite Mani (again as his younger extra-marital lover) in Renaissance Theaterworks ‘Honor’. Here, she shows she is an actor of impressive depth and maturity. Someone to definitely look out for in coming seasons.”

“The cast holds the emotionally raw work together as well as anyone could in real life, and each is a standout in their clearly defined characters. Wohlrabe gains the advantage, perhaps, due to the greater complexity of her role.”

“Wohlrabe, an APT apprentice last year, steps up to a big role as Kyra, who re-encounters the man with whom she had an affair. ‘Greta is the real deal,’ says DeVita.’”

“As Kyra, Wohlrabe has such an open, earnest face, she seems exactly the wrong kind of person to have an affair with — her joy and frustration are so plain. When Wohlrabe raises an eyebrow or dips her voice, her skepticism is as clear as the ice coating her apartment window.”

“I am still astonished by the performance of Greta ... I was mesmerized by the performance of Wohlrabe ... The beauty of APT’s Touchstone Theatre is the audience sits close enough to see the actors’ expressions, and I think Wohlrabe might have conveyed all the drama of her role while seated without ever raising her voice if only the audience could watch her face. She is magnificent. ”

“Mani’s Tom is a force beyond nature, a bombastic man crafted with enough empathy that we can easily see how the tender and compassionate Kyra (played with a compelling mix of conviction, confusion and carnality by Greta Wohlrabe) fell in love with him ... Sheard plays Tom’s son with just the right amount of naivete, in a performance that holds its own alongside the acting class conducted by Mani and Wohlrabe ... There is one scene, where Tom is recounting his wife’s death, where an entire emotional spectrum plays out in Kyra’s face as she silently moves from stoicism to anguish to tears, a state I could not help but join ... I left the theater stunned, but she had another entirely different show to do: both she and Mani had delivered topnotch performances in altogether difference circumstances in the fine ‘Twelfth Night’ the night before and, in her case, she would barely have the time to catch a breath after this matinee before she’d step convincingly into the small but important role of Cassandra in ‘Troilus and Cressida’ a couple hours hence.”

“The squirm factor in ‘Honor’ comes from watching three credible characters each compromise themselves in ways that may look painfully familiar to us ... Claudia is sharp and capable ... Mani and Wohlrabe possess the required chemistry to levitate the play. ”

“Oh, what a smart, wicked comedy of modern manners this is. How beautifully, Laura Gordon, Brian Mani, Greta Wohlrabe, and Karen Estrada play it, under Marie Kohler’s direction ... ‘Honor’ sounds rather like 21st-century Noel Coward until Claudia’s aggressive brightness and subtle flirtation turn Gus’ head ... Wohlrabe’s skirts are too short and tight and her heels are too high for a journalist on the job, but her Claudia is no mere hussy. She’s a smart girl who is unsentimental about getting ahead and will employ all her assets to do so. She sees Gus as a mentor and door-opener, and his articulate sagacity turns her on. She flatters Gus, but also kindles passions in him that he had forgotten. Those passions pack formidable force. We might not approve of Gus’ actions, but we can understand why he does what he does.”

“The third member of the love triangle, the young and lovely Claudia, is endowed with equal parts craft and charm.”

“There’s a subtlety to this woman’s interactions with both Honor and Honor’s husband that speaks to a very contemporary kind of intellect ... she’s fiercely intelligent in the contemporary sense ... It’s much more nuanced and complex portrayal.”

“Wohlrabe is every bit the youth she’s playing here. As a member of the Milwaukee Rep’s Acting Intern Ensemble last year, she made a notable performance in the company’s inaugural ‘Rep Lab’. In that show, she managed to create a dynamic presence in Neil LaBute’s ‘The Furies’ without saying a word.”