“Jason McCool lives up to his name, portraying Orpheus as a bluesy trumpet player with a violent streak.”
–Peter Marks, The Washington Post
(Polaroid Stories, Studio Theatre, Washington, DC)

Riding The Bull 
by August Schulenburg

July 10 – July 26, 2009

Produced by Jason McCool and the Riot Actor(s) of Washington

DC premiere, presented for the Capital Fringe Festival

Directed by Colin Hovde

Starring Kate Debelack and Jason McCool

What reviewers said:

"Riding the Bull gave us the finest male acting of the Fringe in the person of Jason McCool."
Bob Anthony, AllArtsReview4U

"One of Capital Fringe's more captivating shows... fantastic performances from two top-notch actors!"
Stephanie Merry, Washington Post

"This Fringearrific show ... features some of DC's best. MASSIVELY positive audience reaction and buzz – laughter and tears! One of the DC Examiner's 'Ten Shows You Don't Want to Miss."
Brett Adelman's DC Fringe blog

"What a ride! More emotional range and humor and moral cosmology packed into this brief show than in many shows half again as long."
Brett Adelman's DC Fringe Blog

"[a] sharp, exceedingly odd and genuinely funny play... [with an] excellent cast!"
Sommer Mathis, DCist
...also, DCist listed RTB as one of its "4 Must-See Fringe Shows"
DCist Weekend Fringe Guide

“…when acting is top-notch, there is no better joy.”
"McCool nails the sad naivete of a man sinking into greed and amorality without ever losing his boyish charm. You can’t decide whether to smack him or pinch his cheeks… raw and vibrant theater. Definitely worth it.”
Jenn Larsen, WeLoveDC

“I cried… a lot of fun, a lot of heart, a little blasphemy, and a little banjo!”
Jessica Pearson, DC Theatre Scene

"Fine actors Kate Debelack and Jason McCool, and director Colin Hovde... fulfilled the promise. Wonderfully acted & directed, this insightful, hilarious, moving ‘dramedy’ reeled us in with guffaws, then stealthily moved many to tears."
Karen Shod (of Karen's Hot Tip and Tix, DC Theatre Scene)

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot by Stephen Adly Guirgis

April 13–May 4, 2008, remounted Dec. 5–21, 2008

Forum Theatre, Washington, DC

Directed by John Vreeke

Starring: Margery Berringer, Frank Britton, Patrick Bussink, Rex Daugherty, Veronica del Cerro, Julie Garner, Cesar Guadamuz, Maggie Glauber, Heather Haney, Brian Hemmingsen, Jim Jorgensen, Scott McCormick, Frank B. Moorman, Jesse Terrill, Emily Webbe and Jason McCool

What reviewers said:

"I saw you in that play last week; you made me cry. That’s a line, a not particularly consequential bit of dialogue from a sweetly melancholy story told by an otherwise quiet character late in Stephen Adly Guirgis’ The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, and I mention it only because I can’t think of a better response to the Forum Theatre’s dazzling production. So I offer it up, amended a bit, to John Vreeke’s superb ensemble: I saw you in that thrillingly written, urgently performed, crassly funny, somehow heartbreaking play last week, and damn if you didn’t actually make a critic cry."

"The April-May run of Stephen Adly Guirgis' play was probably the single most thrilling piece of theater I've seen all year.  I mean: I'm a jaded 40-year-old theater critic, with a bad attitude most days, and I've been to more bad plays this year than I had bad one-night stands back in my 20s. And I cried like a damn baby at this show."

Trey Graham, Washington City Paper

"Jason McCool mostly sits in his infernal circle, frozen in pain and bewilderment, but when he is called upon to bring Judas Iscariot to life, he will break your heart."

"I was particularly impressed with Jason McCool, who was even better as Judas than he was when I saw him the first time… an absolutely riveting portrayal which was at once moving and terrifying."

Tim Treanor, DC Theatre Scene

Scenes from the Big Picture 
by Owen McCafferty

May – June 2007

Solas Nua, Washington, DC

Directed by Des Kennedy

What reviewers said:

Named as "One of the Top 10 Best Plays of the Decade" by the Washington Post.

"Jason McCool and Stephanie Roswell impressively complete this tale of betrayal, as the husband and the woman with whom he cheats... With this absorbing, exquisitely acted production, two-year-old Solas Nua affirms its status as the most vital new troupe in town."

Peter Marks, Washington Post

"Mightily do I dig Solas Nua. Their Scenes from the Big Picture at Catholic back in May was what we pointy-headed aesthetes like to call 'the shit.'"

Chris Klimek, Washington City Paper 

The Seagull on 16th St.
by Anton Chekhov

June 17 – July 19, 2009

Theatre J, Washington, DC

Adapted by Ari Roth, based on a translation by Carol Rocamora

Directed by John Vreeke

Starring: Naomi Jacobson, Jerry Whiddon, J. Fred Shiffman, Alexander Strain, Brian Hemmingsen, Nanna Ingvarsson, Tessa Klein, Mark Krawczyk, and Jason McCool

What reviewers said:

"Artistic director Ari Roth has assembled a wonderful cast, from scene-stealing stagehand Jason McCool to D.C. veteran Naomi Jacobson, whose comic timing has never been better."

Fiona Zublin, Washington Post Express, July 9, 2009

"This Seagull is lively, solidly built and frequently funny—and productions of Chekhov that achieve that particular trifecta are rare indeed."

Glen Weldon, Washington City Paper, June 24, 2009

A few other random things from the past…