REVIEWS
“Dunsinane — Marin Theatre Company”
“Long Day’s Journey into Night — American Stage”
"MORE GROUCHO PLEASE" -- San Diego Citybeat
"Josh Odsess-Rubin nails it as Groucho" -- San Diego Jewish World
"Groucho (the talented Josh Odsess-Rubin)..." -- Times of San Diego
"Spaulding (played magnificently by Josh Odsess-Rubin)..." -- SD Uptown News
"I saw Bad Jews and thought about you, "Wow. What a really good actor I'm seeing". But now, Capt. Spaulding? I enjoyed every single minute and totally laughed my ass off. You were fucking brilliant. I can say that Groucho Marx would have loved and approved of your performance." -- a guy from the audience
"He does an amazing job" -- Vista Press
"Odsess-Rubin's ode to Groucho rings true" -- Stage and Cinema
"Odsess-Rubin captures Groucho's sly humor" -- San Diego Story
"Odsess-Rubin is best when he has a chance to improvise and play with the audience, even throwing in a mention to 'Bad Jews' his last Cygnet show, where he was fantastic." -- Broadwayworld
"Start with its central quartet: Josh Odsess-Rubin, who brings an admirably deft comic touch to the Groucho role... One of the biggest treats on opening night was Odsess-Rubin’s (apparently) off-script jaunts; at one point, with full Groucho insouciance, he grabbed a program from a playgoer and began riffing on other Cygnet shows — mentioning his own turn in “Bad Jews.” (He was great in that, by the way.) Odsess-Rubin’s way of channeling Groucho as the allegedly intrepid explorer Capt. Spaulding — and wringing every last guilty laugh out of a series of groaner gags — plays a big part in keeping the show as together as possible." -- San Diego Union-Tribune
ANIMAL CRACKERS -- July-August 2017 -- CYGNET THEATRE
“As her potential suitor, the awkward Arthur de Bourgh, Josh Odsess-Rubin is hilarious...He’s the real hero in this story, sort of a geeky jester-prince in the Austen universe. His courtship of Mary reminded me of a Regency Era Big Bang Theory.”
— BROADWAYWORLD
“Josh Odsess-Rubin is a delight as the cerebral, stammering Arthur”
— TAMPA BAY TIMES
“An amazing Jenny Lester and Josh Odsess-Rubin lead a talented cast, resulting in a perfect play that celebrates the magic of love and Christmas.”
— SPLASH MAGAZINE
Odsess-Rubin’s youthful energy, and versatility in playing 4 parts, was fabulously on display throughout the production...
I’ve witnessed many a standing ovation at Portland Stage...But I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a Saturday matinee crowd lurch to its feet so quickly and resoundingly as it did at “Red Herring”‘s final curtain.
—Bangor Daily News
Odsess-Rubin’s James has an endearing aw-shucks awkwardness.
—Portland Phoenix
Josh Odsess-Rubin is similarly deft with his quartet of characters, and he manages to make James Appel, the Soviet spy in love with McCarthy's daughter, sweetly absurd.
—Broadwayworld
THEATERMANIA: As the young lovers, Carthew and Odsess-Rubin are both hilariously histrionic. Their impromptu opera is a highlight.
AMERICAN THEATRE: Carthew and Josh Odsess-Rubin are new and welcome additions to the company. His Cléante is a soulful young pup, totally undone by his passionate infatuation.
LA TIMES: [Carthew's] nutty pastoral duet with Odsess-Rubin is touching.
SOUTH PASADENA REVIEW: Daughter Angélique and her suitor Cléante are played earnestly by a sparkling Kelsey Carthew and a desperately forlorn Josh Odsess-Rubin in a charming turn.
LONG BEACH PRESS-TELEGRAM: Josh Odsess-Rubin creates a gentle earnestness in Cleante, the man Angelique loves, making her choice all the more obvious.
The performances are outstanding...Josh Odsess-Rubin makes Liam a tightly-wrapped, barely controlled, seething mass of contradictions.
-- TIMES OF SAN DIEGO
Odsess-Rubin is a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. He has a couple of cynical speeches that are as brutal as they are hilarious -- SAN DIEGO STORY
[E]ntertaining and excellent... Josh Odsess-Rubin as Liam is no less formidable or self-righteous an opponent than Frimer's Daphna...he matches her hit for hit --BROADWAYWORLD
Danielle Frimer (Daphna) and Josh Odsess-Rubin (Liam) have the artistic courage to be brutally unlikeable -- SAN DIEGO READER
BAD JEWS -- JAN-FEB 2017 -- CYGNET THEATRE
Cygnet has knocked this one out of the ballpark. The chemistry among the cousins was such that you’d think they really had a lifetime of history together -- SD JEWISH WORLD
All roles are played splendidly -- SAN DIEGO UPTOWN NEWS
Odsess-Rubin plays Liam with all the stubbornness and lack of tact called for, and that is considerable -- SD GAY & LESBIAN NEWS
[A]n amazing cast...Josh Odsess-Rubin presents an amazing display of the conflicted, angry, confused, somewhat domineering brother -- VISTA PRESS
Exquisitely acted... Odsess-Rubin is a potent force as Liam.
-- SD UNION-TRIBUNE
"Jeb Burris and Josh Odsess-Rubin, who play Dromio of Ephesus and Dromio of Syracuse, respectively, flexed unparalleled comedic timing as the Antipholus twins’ knucklehead sidekicks.”
— Sierra Sun, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS
OC REGISTER:
Wonderfully acted from top to bottom, SOC’s “As You Like It” has a sly sense of humor and a great feel for the riches of Shakespeare’s script...
Odsess-Rubin shows that in her Ganymede guise, Rosalind struggles for credible masculinity. The actor uses letter-perfect comic timing in showing Ganymede’s fluttery effeminacy, and as “he” grows frazzled doling out romantic counsel in Arden, Odsess-Rubin is reminiscent of a young Gene Wilder.
...The quick take is that of an outstanding outdoor Shakespeare staging that shouldn’t be missed.
ORANGE CURTAIN REVIEW:
The acting is well done by all parties involved, but the star of the show is undeniably Josh Odsess-Rubin who plays Rosalind/Ganymede.
Rubin’s Rosalind is vulnerable, creative, and giddy with love for Orlando. In short, he is everything one could want Rosalind to be.
...Equally worthy of note is the fact that his gender is not played up for laughs--anymore than could be expected. This is as serious as a portrayal of a man playing a woman who is pretending to be a man as one could ever hope to see.
Among the many standouts are Josh Odsess-Rubin as Owen Fallon and the ghost of Marley.
-- The Union-Democrat, A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Odsess-Rubin makes a downright chilling entrance as Jacob’s Marley’s ghost.
— Calaveras Enterprise, A CHRISTMAS CAROL
The trio of Dauphine, Truewit and Clerimont, played charmingly by Michael Kirby, Josh Odsess-Rubin and Christopher Norwood were sensational...Their antics and treachery come off incredibly natural and confident.
However, of the three, it is Odsess-Rubin that steals the show, playing both loyal comrade and wacky conspirator in a way that makes you believe you’ll be hearing his name much more in theatre circles over the next few years.
-- reviewfix.com, EPICENE
“Odsess-Rubin, who renders his songs in a style suggesting “The Threepenny Opera,” is outstanding in his seriocomic performance as the wise fool.”
“No one misses a beat, from Colin Nesmith’s gloriously over-the-top Malvolio to Josh Odsess-Rubin’s Buster Keatonish fool Feste to Rosemary Brownlow as the suffering-in-silence Viola...It’s intimate, hilarious and a top-notch production all around.”
“If you’ve ever contemplated seeing “King Lear”—and you should, if you have any love for theatre or humanity—you’re well advised to catch UC Irvine’s New Swan Shakespeare Festival production...BreAnne Murphy (Goneril), Leslie Lank (Cordelia), Josh Odsess-Rubin (Edmund) and Oge Agulue (Cornwall) are exceptional among the first-rate cast. ”
“Josh Odsess-Rubin is truly terrific
as Hamlet from the very first lines of
the play.”
“The cast is quite funny.”
“Josh Odsess-Rubin is
appropriately douchey
as Hamlet.”
“As Allen Felix, Odsess-Rubin is a constellation of exploding nerve endings...and Odsess-Rubin is nothing short of marvelous in the role. He’s nebbish ascendant, geek-chic in his checked pants, steel-rim glasses and Bozo-like Afro. Odsess-Rubin is a delight to watch...
Though Allan is an archetype, Odsess-Rubin avoids one-dimensionality in his interpretation; he’s consistently energetic and brings just the right amount of physical comedy to the role...It’s really Odsess-Rubin’s skill at playing off the actions of others that lifts this play up to an engaging level. The cast supports him, but he’s equally generous in supporting them back, and this kind of ensemble acting helps make for a great night of theatre.”
“The ensemble of seven, led by
standouts Caitlin Johnston and Josh Odsess-Rubin, worked nicely with each other, never allowing
for a dry or dull moment.”
“ An evening of brilliantly fresh theater...
The cast is outstanding.”
“Absolutely one of my favorite shows at Fringe this year... every single actor breathes fire into a wonderfully strange and refreshing piece.”
“Josh Odsess-Rubin comes in second with eight characters...each of
them a slice out of Monty Python’s playbook.
Odsess-Rubin plays the rather inept Detective Fix
throughout much of the play; it’s Inspector Clouseau as
played by John Cleese...a composite of tics, rubber face, googly eyes,
silly walks, and clownish, endearing physicality.”
“Josh Odsess-Rubin excels at slapstick and self-effacement so that his major role as the British Detective is old shoe for him.”
TimeOut Magazine -- Promotional photo for HOLD MUSIC, part of Ars Nova's ANT FEST