“An absorbing dreamscape with a lyrical adaptation and translation… it approaches the incantatory cadences — and the life-or-death stakes — we associate with Greek tragedy.” - Boston Globe

“Barillas brings a ferocious intensity to his performance as Juan.” - Theater Mirror

“A quartet of acting pros volleying lines with athletic finesse and adding comic topspin to every double-take and slow-burn.” - LA Times

"One of the most thoroughly engaging, emotionally piercing new works I have seen this season."
                                  - Broadway World

"Sometimes a piece of art enters your life at the exact right moment. The experience brings your life and your place in the world into focus. Brett Ryback’s musical Joe Schmoe Saves the World is just such a piece. The mirror it holds up to modern American culture reflects back an all too real image that is at once critical and hopeful. With relatable characters, hard-hitting imagery, and a soundtrack I’ve been listening to on repeat for almost a week now, Joe Schmoe Saves the World transforms and inspires."

"This homegrown production boasts superb acting, keen pacing, effective design and even credible fight scenes... Christian Barillas maintains a splendid balance in the scene-stealing part of Jackie’s superficially effeminate cousin Julio, burrowing into elements of caricature while keeping the portrayal unflaggingly human."

- The Hollywood Reporter

"Sleek and satisfying production... provides the most surprising emotion of any production in the festival's opening quartet... a quickly-moving spectacle... a handsome production... Christian Barillas as Mr. Bingley, a very rich, single and desirable young man."         

- The Sacramento Bee

"An astonishing, expertly crafted tragedy that seduces and repels... It tempts you with its pulsing rhythms and evocative language until it has you fully under its spell... [the] immigrant epic is very much the Latino cousin of 'Death of a Salesman,'... only this daring world premiere doesn't just serve up one Willy Loman. It serves up seven... brought to sad, vibrant life by a profoundly capable ensemble."

- Denver Post

"A singularly powerful response to this cultural moment... delicately nuanced, emotionally true rendering given by director Juliette Carrillo and a committed cast... palpably, achingly resonant."

- The Los Angeles Times

"By contemporizing it and throwing in not a drip but a deluge of accessible references make it extremely funny.  And relevant, passionate, philosophical and political, and a dash naughty, just as the play should be but so rarely is."

- Variety

"The artful blend of reality and magic is wise and wonderful... textured, thoughtful and certainly entertaining... Christian Barillas is first rate."

- The Hollywood Reporter