"to Cyrilla Baer, who brought one of the hardest pieces of music I have written to life with unbelievable grace and ease. Your fearlessness is amazing and your talent incredible! "
- Composer Josh Schmidt (his “In Recognition” remarks in the published score of ADDING MACHINE, A MUSICAL)
- Composer Josh Schmidt (his “In Recognition” remarks in the published score of ADDING MACHINE, A MUSICAL)
(Available for viewing at
Lincoln Center Library) |
NEW YORK THEATRE
For: ADD1NG MACH1NE, A MUSICAL at MINETTA LANE THEATRE (with Joel Hatch and Amy Warren. Directed by David Cromer) “...the fabulous Cyrilla Baer...embodied with ferocious truth by an astoundingly good cast....unforgettably vivid performances in the three lead roles... Ms. Baer is equally idiomatic as the crabbed, cranky Mrs. Zero, her wonderful waddle expressing truculence and disgruntlement as vividly as the bleating voice. (Ms. Baer’s bleat may be unforgettable, but she’s a seriously good singer too.)” - Charles Isherwood, The New York Times “After a rousing start—courtesy of Cyrilla Baer as Mrs. Zero, who opens the show with a cruel and complicated aria about her troubled marriage...Baer and Warren are compelling...They are the performers you most want to watch, and their collective magic illuminates what is clearly at work behind this production: a desire to make remarkable theatre.” - Hilton Als, THE NEW YORKER “Cyrilla Baer's Mrs. Zero gives shrewishness an indelibly human face” - John Simon, BLOOMBERG.COM “Cyrilla Baer makes us loathe the nagging Mrs. Zero as much as her husband does, yet mourn as she does herself.” - Linda Winer, NEWSDAY "TheaterMania decided the time has come to recognize some excellent performers who were overlooked by various awards-giving organizations for their contributions. So (we) have each chosen four performers to honor for their first-rate work. "In the opening scene of the musical Adding Machine, Cyrilla Baer's Mrs. Zero launches full throttle into a strident, nagging screed against her husband. Her notes are partly sung, partly screeched, and perfectly establish not only her character, but the tone of the entire show. There's also a lovely moment later in the musical, when Mr. Zero is in jail, where she momentarily softens and there's hope for a tender reconciliation between the couple. Baer handles each and every shift of emotion and intention with aplomb within this excellent Off-Broadway tuner.” - DB - From TWELVE MEMORABLE MEN (AND WOMEN) TheaterMania looks back at a dozen award-worthy performances of the past season By: Brian Scott Lipton, Dan Bacalzo, and David Finkle - THEATERMANIA Feature “She’s a nightmare. In the extraordinary first scene that takes place in a cold marital bed placed upright onstage, the director gambles everything on the unstoppable nagging aria of Mrs. Zero. Has there ever been an opening number like it? Performed by the terrific Cyrilla Baer, “Something to Be Proud of” is an astonishing, jarring song of yammering envy and complaint. - John Heilpern, NEW YORK OBSERVER “Cromer's cast is seamless too, with his lead performers constantly conveying the extra possibilities that their characters never grasp.” - Michael Feingold, VILLAGE VOICE “...his nagging wife, Mrs. Zero (Cyrilla Baer, fluent in spousal discontent)... the voices are all clear and robust -- and in the case of Baer's Mrs. Zero, sharp enough to cut glass...But the faces are even more haunting for the robotic lack of expression that allows only periodic flashes of unguarded human emotion.” - Marilyn Stasio, VARIETY 5 STARS “Is it too early to declare Adding Machine the best new musical of 2008? Perhaps, but I’m going to do so anyhow, and if something better comes along, it will be a great year for musicals indeed...Zero’s gossipy termagant of a wife (played by Cyrilla Baer with savage relish and scorn)...” - Adam Feldman, TIME OUT NEW YORK “The cast rises to the show's often difficult vocal demands. Cyrilla Baer expertly negotiates the often unnerving music for Mrs. Zero, his squawking helpmate, with ease.” - Michael Kuchwara, ASSOCIATED PRESS “...capably matched by Ms. Baer, who lends a plush soprano to her harangues...” - Eric Grode, NY SUN “The performers are roundly up to the challenge, delivering scintillating and unsentimental portrayals of souls caught in the endless gears of an uncaring universe. Baer makes Mrs. Zero...so detestable but so likeable that nothing about her behavior - or her husband’s in response - comes as a surprise.” - Matthew Murray, TALKINBROADWAY.COM 
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(Available for viewing at
Lincoln Center Library) |
For: UNCLE VANYA at CLASSIC STAGE COMPANY (w/Denis O’Hare, Peter Sarsgaard, Maggie Gyllenhaal. Directed by Austin Pendleton)
“...allowing a sterling ensemble to exercise its comedic chops on the scribe's complaining privileged classes.” - Marilyn Stasio, VARIETY “Cyrilla Baer, Louis Zorich, and Delphi Harrington give rounded performances in the smaller roles.” - David Sheward, BACKSTAGE "But Cyrilla Baer is right on target as the estate’s maid, warmly showing her acute, if useless, understanding of the passage of time." - Matthew Murray, TALKINBROADWAY.COM "There are some memorable performances from the supporting cast, who is more present in the production than perhaps is the norm...Cyrilla Baer, as a nurse whose solution to everything is God and vodka, is entertainingly sassy (she was unforgettable last year as the shrill, abrasive wife in the musical Adding Machine)." - Ilya Khodosh, THE BERKSHIRE REVIEW FOR THE ARTS “The players give the collective impression that they're to the Chekhov manner (and country manor) born...most notably the bearded but open-faced Zorich and the reassuring Baer -- are true to Chekhov's letter and spirit.” - David Finkle, THEATERMANIA “But you don't need a big role to make a strong impression, as do Louis Zorich... and Cyrilla Baer as the old nanny. Both are the epitome of the characters who lend color and, well, Russian-ness, to Chekhov's plays.” - Elyse Sommer, CURTAIN UP 
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For: MONROE, ILLINOIS: OVER HERE/TOWNIE at The Flea with On The Square
“The second half of the evening really comes to life with Over Here, driven by the absolutely fantastic performances of Rachel McPhee as Nora and Cyrilla Baer as Patty... The air in the theatre crackles with the contempt these characters have for each other and my hat's off to these two for creating a relationship so complex and familiar....If you’re hungry for good drama during the holiday season, these shows are a must see.” - Peter Schulyer, NYTHEATRE.COM |
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For: THE HATPIN at NYMF
“an accomplished cast...As Agatha Makin, Cyrilla Baer's sociopathic sweetness is chilling.” - Gwen Orel, BACKSTAGE “...the immensely talented cast (The Add1ng Mach1ne’s Cyrilla Baer’s creepily saccharine murderess proves the best of the best)” - Julie Haverkate. ELECTRIC PEAR 
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REGIONAL THEATRE
For: THE ADDING MACHINE: A CHAMBER MUSICAL at Next Theater, Chicago “...sung and acted with first-rate musicianship and sharp psychological detail by... (Hatch), Cyrilla Baer (and Warren)...each indelibly etching the contours of these misbegotten souls in plaintive song.” - Charles Isherwood, The New York Times “And the women are excellent, too...Cyrilla Baer’s unrelenting, unforgiving and pitch-perfect Mrs. Zero...” - Chris Jones, CHICAGO TRIBUNE “From the opening sequence, in which Mrs. Zero (Cyrilla Baer) contemptuously berates her husband, the music draws us into a world of rich but not sympathetic characters...” - Steven Oxman, VARIETY “...Mrs. Zero’s (Baer) enthralling opening scene rant...” - Novid Parsi, TIME OUT CHICAGO |
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For: RUTHLESS! at The Colony Theater, Miami
(directed by Joel Paley) “...a cast that goes deliberately over the top and stays there, exultant....Cyrilla Baer is a stitch...” - Christine Dolen, THE MIAMI HERALD “...with actors capable of handling side-splitting assignments...Cyrilla Baer add(s) choice bombast...” - Jack Zink, THE FORT LAUDERDALE SUN-SENTINEL |
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For: SECRETS EVERY SMART TRAVELER SHOULD KNOW at Actors' Playhouse, Coral Gables
“Cyrilla Baer, whose gift for outrageous comedy isn’t exploited nearly enough here, is on target as a meek woman awakened by love in “Acapulco” and a Carmen MIranda-like babe who belts out “Red Hot Lava”. - Christine Dolen, THE MIAMI HERALD “Cyrilla Baer stylishly portrays several over-the-top characters - including...a besequined personification of a volcano.” - Robin Dougherty, NEW TIMES |
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For: THE PAJAMA GAME (Carbonell Nomination) at Actors' Playhouse, Coral Gables
“...lights up the stage with the excellent Cyrilla Baer (as company secretary Mabel) during an exuberant rendition of “I’ll Never Be Jealous Again”. - Pamela Gordon, NEW TIMES “...and a large cast have plumbed the bemusing comedy of a number like “I’ll Never Be Jealous Again” (performed to perfection by...Cyrilla Baer...” - Christine Dolen, THE MIAMI HERALD |
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For: NUNSENSE JAMBOREE (Carbonell Honorable Mention) at Off-Broadway on 26th, Ft. Lauderdale (directed by Dan Goggin)
“...led by Cyrilla Baer as Amnesia. She has...a jet-powered singing voice that dives screaming from the stratosphere to roar down the aisles.” - Jack Zink, THE FORT LAUDERDALE SUN-SENTINEL “Cyrilla Baer is exceptional with her powerful voice and twinkle in her eye”. - Al Price, JEWISH JOURNAL For: TRIBUTE TO BROADWAY at The Barn, Nashville “Cyrilla Baer’s clear soprano voice and her subtle command of comedy provide some of the evening’s best moments. She is the most versatile of the group, slipping easily from rowdy numbers where she belts out humorous lyrics to dramatic, dignified solos sung solemnly under a single spotlight.” - Beth Atkins, THE NASHVILLE BANNER |
