East Bay Express, July 29, 1994
Candi Ellis

Having merged with Underground Shakespeare, the Shotgun Players have become one of the most exciting theatre groups in the East Bay. In the small 'subterranean theatre' at La Val's, the players generate plenty of electricity. Although the choice of plays in this case seems questionable (what was Mamet trying for? farce or fable?), Karen Goldstein as the malevolent milkmaid who won't kiss and thus release the Prince from the curse of froghood and Leith Burke as the hubris-filled Prince are wonderful. On the other hand, Stan Spenger, who has demonstrated considerable talent in previous roles, seems wasted in the role of 'the servingman' whose loyalty to the Prince remains unswerved for far too long.

August, 1994
Matthew Surrence

" ...Only 45 minutes long, The Frog Prince plays like a wistful, updated version of a 'Fractured Fairy Tale' from the old Rocky and Bullwinkle show. Free of Mamet's customary profanity, it nevertheless presents the playwright working in his customary thematic vein: what happens to people when they fail to submit to the arbitrary will of, as he might put it, the Natural Order of Things.

...As a frog (amusing webbed hands are one of costume designer Vanessa O'Connor's nice touches), the Prince is believed dead by his fiancee, who quickly marries his cousin and establishes a reign of terror from the castle. Attended to by his noble Servingman - who speaks in formal, noble cadences in amusing counterpart to the Prince's contemporary speech - the Prince must now get a Milkmaid (Karen Goldstein) to kiss him and restore him to his human form.

The four-person cast was excellent. Burke was a charming, thoughtful Prince; Spenger had a nice mixture of humility coupled with a pride born of duty; Wylie was a mysterious, fatalistic Witch; and Goldstein a sweet Milkmaid with a delightful vocal delivery reminiscent of Victoria Jackson's."