My production of Rob Benson's DEAD SHOT MARY opened at The Bridge Theatre in September 2016 to rave reviews and enthusiastic community response. See some excerpts below, and read the outstanding feature from The New York Times.

"The captivating and must-see life story of a New York hero you’ve never heard of...I also need to give a round of applause to Stephen Kaliski's direction. Kaliski has McPhee use every possible inch of that space, both matching and enhancing her physically dynamic performance." -Theatre is Easy, "BEST BET"
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“Mary Shanley would be proud of the work Robert K. Benson has done in celebrating her story...an extraordinary performance by Rachel McPhee.” -Charged FM

"DEAD SHOT MARY is a special show. When you find an actress who can embody the real person, it’s as if you’ve struck gold. Rachel McPhee was that." -Theater in the Now

“A captivating performance by Rachel McPhee...All of the elements come together to paint a perfect portrait of this ordinary and yet remarkable woman.” -Talkin Broadway

“Rachel McPhee’s bravura performance as Mary is not to be missed.” -Theater Pizzazz

My play Memoriam: After Euripides' Alcestis will be premiering at FringeNYC this August! Directed by Elizabeth Ostler, this co-production between Adjusted Realists and Hypnic Theatre Company will introduce New York audiences to this haunting story about a wayward king bringing his departed wife back from the dead.

For more information, including tickets and showtimes, click here.

We did it! GLUTEN! ran for 16 shows at 59E59 Theaters. Our houses were packed, and critics [mostly] landed on the right side of this wacky, sneakily gut-punching satire. Some excerpts of press below. Be sure to visit adjustedrealists.com for more info.

One of Time Out's "25 super-sweet things to do this weekend!"

"Wonderfully icky...laughs abound, and the five memorable performances buoy the delightful show...Kaliski’s satire is successful in reminding audiences of what we lose when we protect ourselves from all ailments, unhealthy snacks, and even contact with others. Like its characters, Kaliski hopes we see the benefit of intimacy while exploring the mess of life." -Theatre is Easy

"The play holds the audience’s attention without missing a beat, a nuance, or a single line...It’s about life and living and mortality and concludes with 'I dunno, man, I thought hey, fun while it lasted.' You will love it, hate it, or just be confused. But you definitely should not miss it." -Woman Around Town

Mr. Kaliski clearly means to lampoon our current fascination with ionized water and alternative foods, our fear of anything unnatural or adulterated with added sugar. That is territory rich and ripe, and the cast is eager." -The New York Times

"The ensemble mines the comic possibilities of the script’s jargon-rich dialogue while maintaining a truthful emotional core...the play’s startling, darkly hopeful ending makes a timely and touching point. This world is a hazardous place: increasingly so, if the headlines are to be believed. And yet we have to live our lives, embrace one another while we’re here, and somehow try to make sense of it all." -Ethan Kanfer

My new play Gluten!, a wild and foul futuristic romp about very sensitive people, is set to open at 59E59 Theaters November 19, 2015. The play features Shawna Cormier, Maggie Low, Jeremiah Maestas, Roger Manix, and Josh Tobin, and it's co-directed by Amanda Holston and Yours Truly. Get your tickets now at 59e59.org! And more info at adjustedrealists.com.

I'll be directing two shows later in 2015: the premieres of my new play Gluten! at 59E59 Theaters and Rob Benson's Mary Shanley at Under St. Marks. I'll be excited to share more as announcements unfold!

Pterodactyls completed a 15-performance run of mostly sold-out houses and phenomenal audience and critical response. Reviews included:

A moving production...All due respect to Angels in America, but Pterodactyls may be the best AIDS play of its time." -New York Theatre Review

"21 years later, Pterodactyls is far from extinct....the production manages to balance comedy, drama and absurdism as if this were the most natural thing on earth." -nytheater now

"A worthy revival and a must for any fan of Nicky Silver's...the crackle of his wit still shines through in Pterodactyls." -Theatre is Easy

"A marvelous revival...Stephen Kaliski directs this wonderful cast with aplomb. Catch this super show downtown while you can, but I hope it makes the move to a bigger venue sometime in the near future." -Hi! Drama

According to The Cranky Actress blog: "I was blown away by how great it was...

The director, STEPHEN KALISKI, must be some kind of genius boy or something. Years ago I saw a play, Tigers Be Still, starring Natasha Lyonne, that was directed by the now famous director, Sam Gold. This director has the same kind of talent. When everyone in the cast is doing star-quality work, you can thank the director. Isn’t great theater uplifting and transporting? Go be uplifted and transported. Go see actress Maggie Low in a role she was obviously born to play."

Visit ptero-play.com for further updates!

This August I'll be teaching a two-week public speaking seminar through my summer program Joy in the Performing Arts. I'm planning to reinvent one of the world's worst fears as a thrilling creative act. Open to artists and non-artists alike! For more information on the class, click here. To apply, email me a letter of interest.

Pterodactyls will run July 17- August 3 at Teatro Circulo in the East Village. Please visit ptero-play.com for updates on our ambitious revival of this early masterpiece from Nicky Silver.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream had a sensational run at the Yale University Theatre from February 19 - 22, 2014. Our production received rave reviews from campus publications The Yale Herald and The Yale Daily News.

The Yale Herald wrote, “The Yale Dramat’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Stephen Kaliski, is a glorious, candy-colored technical wonder. A wall of lamps illuminates the theater, a disco ball sparkles, and a fluorescent moon changes colors overhead; the set becomes by turns a high school cafeteria, yoga studio, and stage for an impromptu rap battle. This is an eccentric and exuberant Midsummer, unabashedly ambitious in scale and directorial vision. It is a production which embraces the fundamental strangeness of the play, its psychosexual ambiguity and uneasy negotiation of the boundaries between dreams and reality...And indeed, the show is a dreamy feast for the senses, with stunning and memorable visual moments in every scene...Artistically, the production is a triumph, and its wit, inventiveness, and visual eloquence make one want to linger in this Dream long after the curtain has fallen.”

Thanks to my glorious cast of actors and my peerless designers: Jason Sherwood, sets; Marisa Kaugars, costumes; Christina Watanabe, lights; and Matt Sherwin, sound and music.