Triumph of Love

Duncan Pflaster,
BroadwayWorld.com - 4/28/08:

"Astoria Performing Arts Center gives the show a fine production with an excellent cast... Agis (Tripp Pettigrew) is meant to be the straight man, but some of the funniest moments in the play come from his honest reactions to the insanity around him... The handsome Mr. Pettigrew is very funny and appropriately naïve."

Byrne Harrison,
the off-off-broadway review - 4/25/08:

"...[T]he Astoria Performing Arts Center chooses to make its production stand out by having a stellar cast. ... Pettigrew as the conflicted hero, Agis, grows nicely from a boy who has lived his life in the isolation of books, into a man who, flooded with love, seems to have no idea what to do."

David Stallings,
The Fab Marquee - 4/29/08:

"...That being said, the ensemble collected by the Astoria Performing Arts Center is extremely talented.... As the stoic Agis, Tripp Pettigrew, is endearing.... It is rare that one sees a play and cannot find a weak link in the cast. The Astoria Arts Center should be commended for bringing such talent together."

John Kenrick,
Musicals101.com - 4/25/08:

"[The score] shines when performed by the APAC cast, one of the most solid singing ensembles I have ever seen. They also excel as farceurs, making all the unlikely twists of the plot disarmingly easy to accept.... [T]he handsome Tripp Pettigrew is every inch a fantasy prince, believably torn between philosophic principles and his first taste of love.... In short, APAC has come up with yet another winner, and Triumph of Love has the kind of New York production it always deserved. A triumph indeed!"

David Hilder,
nytheatre.com - 4/25/08:

"The entire cast sings very well—Jeffrey Stock's music is certainly not easy, and their voices all rise to the occasion.... Tripp Pettigrew's Agis begins unsteadily, but finds confidence in the second act, and he too sings like a dream."

Cameron Kelsall,
Theater Talk's New Theater Corps - 4/27/08:

"Manhattan musical theatre fans, take note: for the first time since -- well, in my case, ever -- there's a good reason to go to Queens.... Performed by an embarrassingly talented cast, Brian Swasey's simple yet winsome staging almost surmounts the show's shortcomings.... I managed to leave with a smile on my face, something I certainly don't remember happening after seeing the original Broadway incarnation. It proves once again that a solid cast really can achieve anything."

Sam Thielman,
Back Stage - 4/29/08:

"The performers sing their roles beautifully and have energy to spare, which carries Triumph of Love over many of its rough patches."

Amy Krivohlavek,
offoffonline - 4/27/08:

"[Director, Brian Swasey] has assembled a cast who give the show their all and then some."

Forever Plaid

Bill DeYoung,
The Indian River Press Journal - 1/26/07:

"Wearing heavenly white tuxedos, the Plaids croon-and-June their way through a hit parade of confectionery oldies, from 'Three Coins in the Fountain' to 'Shangri-La.' Richard True, Eric Michael Ulloa, Mitch McCarrell and Tripp Pettigrew - all professional, nonlocal performers - have a sweet vocal blend that makes them sound as if they've actually been singing together for years.

Some of the comedy is really, really funny - each Plaid has his own nerdy traits, including nosebleeds, ulcers, stage fright and the tendency to make lame jokes that no one else finds funny.

Forever Plaid is a sweet, enjoyable show that doesn't aspire to be anything more than that. As such, this production is a resounding success"

Dan Hall,
Planet Vero.com's Theater Observatory - 1/15/07:

"While the script is a bit corny at times, I didn't come to see a play, I came to hear four guys sing - and in that respect I was not dissapointed. [...] Tripp Pettigrew as Sparky keeps the laughs coming with some great comic moments, and even gets to tickle the ivories while the pianist is out on his union break"

Cats

Peter Filichia,
The Star-Ledger - 7/16/04:

"The ad campaign Cats devised back in 1982 may turn out to be true. The show may indeed run 'Now and Forever.' No longer on Broadway, but the fur continues to fly at Surflight Theatre in Beach Haven. ... Surflight has youth in abundance, for summer stock is the province of the untested. Here are both tomorrow's stars -- and it's insurance executives. Yet all the kids up there deserve to succeed, for they're giving the audiences -- especially the many children in the crowd -- a smashing time. ... As Skimbleshanks, Tripp Pettigrew's charm comes through even the heavy makeup."

Anything Goes

Bre Golden,
LBI's The Islander - 7/30/04:

"It's adventure on the high seas this week in Beach Haven as the Surflight Theatre presents the incomparable sounds and songs of Cole Porter's Anything Goes. Its tale of friendship and star-crossed love is as relevant today as it was when the show opened on Broadway in 1934, yet the Surflight players under the direction of Corin Hollifield make it a modern show indeed. ... Hilarity ensues, exactly what one can expect from Porter. There are disguises aplenty, a priest, a sailor, a Chinese immigrant, a wheelchair-bound old woman -- but the comedy would fall flat if left in lesser hands. Pettigrew, finally getting some time in the limelight after playing small parts in several Surflight productions, brings to life a Billy with whom everyone falls in love, including onstage love interest Hope Harcourt, played by Krista Kurtzberg."

Tom Wrona,
The Beachcomber - 7/30/04:

"In the first act everybody is paired up. To the wrong people. By the final curtain, everyone is with their one true love, especially those wonderful kids Billy Crocker (Tripp Pettigrew) and Hope Harcourt (Krista Kurtzberg)."

Crazy For You

The Mountain Ear - 6/30/05: