PRESS
Next Act’s Adventurous Pathway to a Literary Past
“Mani allows Johnson’s gruff exterior to not so much fade away but rather reveal itself to have never been that gruff after all.”
– Shepherd Express
‘The Children’ Is Provocative Theater
“…Brian Mani brings a Falstaff heartiness that is justified in the dialogue … But at key moments he humanizes the selfish and dependent aspects of the character in ways that dominate the stage.”
– Urban Milwaukee
Next Act’s Drama of Delicately Interconnected Intricacies
“Mani and Kerr have a deliciously comfortable rapport between them that illuminates relations between two characters who have known each other for years.”
– Shepherd Express
Next Act Theatre's 'The Children' embeds a Big Question in Powerful Human Drama
“Mani struts and charms like he came directly over from Shakespeare, roguish enough to keep everyone alert, then revealing surprising depth.”
– Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A skillful and unsentimental ‘King Lear’ at American Players Theatre
“Brian Mani makes a virile and Kingly Lear. His resonant voice, silver mane and magnetic gaze reminded me of a younger, more athletically built Donald Sutherland.”
– Chicago Stage & Screen
Villains By Necessity
“…Brian Mani leads a stellar cast as Lear. It’s a role that requires tremendous range … we see Mani disintegrate on stage, falling from a hale, mature and arrogant man to someone confused, frail and compassionate. It is as though he went through fire instead of rain, which burned away his pomposity and left him nakedly human.”
– Newcity Stage
APT's tempestuous 'King Lear' conjures up a perfect storm
“Mani expertly charts Lear’s slow descent in madness. His mane of white hair grows unkempt, his royal hunting clothes become disheveled, his face turns fifty shades of scarlet as his voice rages, then finally breaks…”
– The Cap Times
Milwaukee’s ‘Boswell’ Makes Triumphant Off-Broadway Debut
“Mani cleverly uses the performing space’s intimate setting to often lower his voice to a whisper… Mani offers a quixotic character who thinks highly of himself in one moment, and in the next minute can be inquisitive and eager to hear to other’s opinions.”
– Shepherd Express
History Comes to Life, Juicily, in This Clever Bio-Play
“Mani is magisterial as Johnson: he exudes the intelligence that would have earned the scholar all due reverence in his day. He also appears as Boswell’s cold, demanding father – a nice Freudian touch.”
– New York Stage Review
Attention must be paid to Brian Mani in 'Death of a Salesman'
“From his wrenching first entrance, Brian Mani ensures this fallen everyman receives the attention he deserves.”
– Milwaukee Journal Sentinel