Reviews

THEATRE REVIEWS

"Kirsten Van Ritzen is one gal who's got it all. She can sing, she can dance (really dance), she can act, she can write and, more important, she can make you laugh out loud - Think Carol Burnett with sex appeal - Give this woman a television show."
TOTALLY RIDICULOUS -The Toronto Star

"Nobody does period like Kirsten Van Ritzen Expect lots of laughter."
TOTALLY RIDICULOUS - NOW Magazine

"Kirsten Van Ritzen portrays Steffy perfectly."
I OUGHTA BE IN PICTURES - Orillia Packet & Times

" - the supporting cast- including Kirsten Van Ritzen as Lydie - is wonderful."
QUIET IN THE LAND- The Record

"There are two wild moments where the play breaks out to provide some solid belly-laughs. One is a show-stopping feminist hissy fit delivered with comic force by fire-breathing actress Alison Downey (Kirsten Van Ritzen.)"
EXIT OTHELLO - Edmonton Sun

"Kirsten Van Ritzen is superb in this one-woman comedy - five stars out of five."
A CLOSETFUL OF NAVY BLUES - Winnipeg Free Press

"charming honesty , good vocal training - Van Ritzen's compelling character study makes it work."
A CLOSETFUL OF NAVY BLUES -Edmonton Journal

"Van Ritzen's Linda, touchy and troubled strikes some real comic sparks."
THE DAUGHTERS OF JUDY LA MARSH -Edmonton Journal

MUSICAL THEATRE REVIEWS

"Van Ritzen makes a pretty fair torch singer, belting out big numbers with a voice that would have sent Ethel Merman considering a career change -an effervescent performance."
MAD DOG MUSIC - Edmonton Sun

"Kirsten Van Ritzen dances and sings up a storm with polished energy and enthusiasm."
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS - The Visitor

"Van Ritzen knows how to work a crowd -the singer show(s) off her comic prowess. Van Ritzen vamps with the best of them singing Kurt Weill as though Marlene Dietrich had come back to life."
TORCH SONGS & TOILET PLUNGERS - Edmonton Sun

"Kirsten Van Ritzen showed herself to be a very entertaining singer/actor, genuinely having fun...her personality is honest and unaffected, and she worked the audience well."
TORCH SONGS & TOILET PLUNGERS - Edmonton Journal

"It is a wonderfully zany, exhilarating, colourful, old Broadway style musical...how could anyone forget the delightful, doddering pair of maternal elderly ladies Estelle and Eunice (Kirsten van Ritzen and Patti Allan). ALLEYCATS THE MUSICAL - Review Vancouver

"Two particular performances that tended to grow on the audience emanated from Patti Allen (Eunice) and Kirsten Van Ritzen (Estelle). Their unique interpretations of these supporting players evoked slight glimmers of Elaine Stritch and Georgia Engel." ALLEYCATS THE MUSICAL - Vancouver Star

"Kirsten Van Ritzen(Lola)is superb for a second consecutive show - an outstanding performance."
CELLBLOCK ROCK - Regina Leader Post

PRAISE FOR THE KIRSTEN VAN RITZEN SHOW

Kirsten Van Ritzen sings, dances, mimes, improvises and plays with puppets over the course of a side-splitting 55-minute one-woman comedy show.

A former Winnipegger who now lives in Vancouver, Van Ritzen is a confident actress and clearly a veteran of the stage (she's a Toronto Second City alumna). Aided by director Ian Ferguson, she shows a real flair for creating a variety of colourful and quirky characters, from boozy divas to marine biologists.

One-woman comedy shows are a dime a dozen at the fringe. But what Van Ritzen offers is a little bit different. She teases and toys with her audience - setting up what appears to be a conventional scene and then turning it on its head. That's what makes her stand out from the crowd. And get a few extra laughs.

* * * * - Cheryl Binning, Winnipeg Free Press (July 22, 2007)

NOT TO BE MISSED Winnipeg born Kirsten Van Ritzen now based in Vancouver, BC has made a triumphant return to the Canadian fringe festival circuit with a solo sketch show that showcases her wealth of talent and the very broad scope of her performing skills. The veteran actor and comedienne pulls out all the stops with eight different characters (nine if you include herself doing a short monologue) in 55 minutes including many near-complete costume changes, never missing a beat.

Van Ritzen’s characters range from a befuddled marine biologist welcoming visitors to her island paradise, to a woman singing a song of unrequited love, to wild party gal Louise (queen of the outrageous one-liners with a sarcastic wit to match). And Van Ritzen’s sultry French chanteuse with the exaggerated accent crooning “Is That All There Is?” is a stroke of understated brilliance.

Through her singing, dancing, wide-ranging comedic stylings and perfect sense of timing, Van Ritzen conjures up comparisons to such female comic icons as Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett... with a dash of Gilda Radner tossed in. This is one very witty lady and she’s not to be missed. -Robin Chase, editor The Phantom Fringer (July 22, 2007)

IMPROV REVIEWS

"Soap veteran Kirsten Van Ritzen was the glue that held the show together. Van Ritzen can improvise a compelling scene with nothing but a broomstick."
MARCH OF DAMES - The Globe and Mail

"Lucille's Ball Better Than TV - hostess Louise is played with great aplomb by Van Ritzen, who steers the show"
LUCILLE'S BALL - YesAnd Toronto

" - capacity crowd was in stitches. The cast are so slick its scary - The sultry Kirsten Van Ritzen establishes the tone."
SIN CITY: RADIOLAND - Toronto Star

"Kirsten Van Ritzen milks every swagger from her Barbara Stanwyck-like divorcee - all (are) experienced improvisers, and their timing is jaw-droppingly precise."
SIN CITY: RADIOLAND - NOW Magazine

"Petunia Kneebody (Kirsten Van Ritzen) sits on the submarine ride at the West Edmonton Mall and chats with Otto - a lime-green ottoman - people in the audience are laughing so hard that the theatre seems a heart-attack risk."
DIE-NASTY SOAPATHON -The Globe and Mail