jason mccool – actor. director. musician. professor.

"I saw you in that play last week; you made me cry. That’s a line... from Stephen Adly Guirgis’ The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, and I mention it only because I can’t think of a better response to 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."

"... go for Jason McCool, whose oft-catatonic Judas inspires sympathy and impatience in equal measures, and whose discipline during those long silent stretches is downright astonishing."

Trey Graham, Washington City Paper, April 23, 2008

"Electrifying... the most dazzling play of the year."
Washington City Paper, December 22, 2008

"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."
Tim Treanor, DC Theatre Scene, April 14, 2008

"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, December 20, 2008

"What’s the hottest show in town? It could well be Forum Theatre’s The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, which has gotten rave reviews since it opened last week. Sacred, profane, heartbreaking and hilariously funny, it offers eyeopening performances from some of the area’s best actors."
Tim Treanor, DC Theatre Scene, April 26, 2008 (includes podcast interview)

"Exhilarating... preposterously entertaining... the ensemble is nearly flawless, treating this flamboyant but purposeful show like an answered prayer."
Peter Marks, Washington Post, April 16, 2008

"In the spring, [Forum] presented a lively version of Stephen Adly Guirgis's fanciful The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, notable for the contributions of such promising actors as Jason McCool and Veronica del Cerro."
Peter Marks, Washington Post, July 24, 2008

"The cast is on fire throughout... a production that probes the intellect, prickles the conscience and ignites the soul."
Jayne Blanchard, Washington Times, December 10, 2008

"...there is the ever present Judas himself, the tormented Jason McCool, who never lets the audience forget that the other characters are discussing the fate of a real person, not an intellectual abstraction."
Brad Hathaway, Potomac Stages, April 12, 2008

 

scenes from the big picture

by Owen McCafferty

• May 17 – June 24, 2007

• Solas Nua, Washington, DC

• listed as one of the Washington Post's "Top 10 Shows of the Decade"

• nominated for 2007 Helen Hayes Award for Best Ensemble

• directed by Des Kennedy

• featuring John C. Bailey, Joe Baker, John Brennan, Madeleine Burke, Patrick Bussink, Bryan Cassidy, Madeleine Carr, Declan Cashman, Paloma Ellis, Brian Hemmingsen, Nanna Ingvarsson, Joe Isenberg, Don Kenefick, Jason McCool, Eric Messner, Ellie Nicoll, Jon Reynolds, Stephanie Roswell, & John Tweel

what critics said:

Listed as one of Washington, DC's "Top 10 Shows of the Decade":
"Let's hear it for the small fry. With an energetic cast and the resourceful Des Kennedy as director, the scrappy folks at tiny Solas Nua (Gaelic for "New Light") put together this deeply invigorating excursion into the lives of Belfast's hard-pressed average citizens."
Peter Marks, Washington Post, December 27, 2009

"With this absorbing, exquisitely acted production, two-year-old Solas Nua affirms its status as the most vital new troupe in town. Kennedy brings out the absolute best in an eclectic cast of local actors. Stephanie Roswell and Jason McCool impressively complete this tale of betrayal, as the husband and the woman with whom he cheats... It is almost unfair to single out anyone, because the production bats 21 for 21 -- no one comes close to striking out. I could go on, or better yet: you should just go."
Peter Marks, Washington Post, May 21, 2007

"Solas Nua's Scenes from the Big Picture at Catholic back in May was what we pointy-headed aesthetes like to call the shit!"
Chris Klimek, DCist writer, January 29, 2008

getting out

by Marsha Norman

• August 28 – September 22, 2007

• Journeymen Theatre, Washington, DC

• directed by Deborah Kirby

• featuring Charlotte Akin, Tiffany Fillmore, Lee Liebeskind, Jason McCool, Joe Palka, Victor Steele, Lolita-Marie Clayton, & Alia Faith Williams

what critics said:

"Also making effective appearances in Getting Out are Jason McCool as a swaggering, strung-out pimp... Journeymen acquits itself well!"
Celia Wren, Washington Post, September 12, 2007

"A challenging work being produced by the frequently thought-provoking troupe, Journeymen Theater. Jason McCool is the perfect jackass as Arley's ex-pimp Carl, with his casual, quick-tempered disregard for anyone in his way".
Missy Frederick, DCist, September 5, 2007

"A fine production this is... a wonderful cast of local talent... Jason McCool as Carl is perfectly sleazy as a petty criminal from Arlie’s criminal past."
Ronnie Ruff, DC Theatre Scene, September 5, 2007

"Wows with punches again and again and again... a highly recommended show that one carries away from the theatre to ponder over for a long time."
Bob Anthony, AllArts4U

edward iii

by William Shakespeare (maybe)

• April 3 – May 6, 2007

• Washington Shakespeare Company, Washington, DC

• presented as part of the
  Shakespeare in Washington Festival

• directed by Joe Banno

• featuring Barbara K. Asare-Bediako, elisha efua bartels, Bryan Cassidy, Brian Crane, Kim Curtiss, Parker Dixon, Daniel Eichner, John Geoffrion, Elizabeth Jernigan, Callie Kimball, Jason McCool, Karen Novack, Joe Palka, Bruce Alan Rauscher, Brain Razzino, Francisco Reinsoso, Arthur Rowan, Mundy Spears, Miyuki Williams, Abby Wood, & Chuck Young

what critics said:

"This scholarly novelty ... boasts more than one bit of first-class poetry, and it’s being staged thoughtfully ... in Joe Banno’s satisfyingly political, mostly modern-dress production for WSC. ... It's something of a relief when Edward, the Black Prince (an entertainingly gung-ho Jason McCool) finally gets to trounce the sneering Frenchies."
Trey Graham, Washington City Paper, April 12, 2007

"A quintessential Washington play...and it sure seems like contemporary England when Edward's son, the Black Prince (Jason McCool, strapping and eager), is ceremonially outfitted with a flak jacket and sent abroad to war."
Nelson Pressley, Washington Post, April 5, 2007

"Edward III is a play which calls out for a wise and understanding director and for superb actors at its core. In Banno and Bruce Alan Rauscher (Edward), Karen Novack (the Countess of Salisbury) and Jason McCool (Edward, the Black Prince), the play gets what it needs. ... Banno and McCool conspire to make these changes subtly, with great specificity, and the effect is utterly convincing. ... Novack, McCool, Charles Young as King John of France... are absolutely first rate... Honestly, there’s so much good stuff about this play that I cannot possibly stuff it all into this review. You’ll have to go see it yourself."
Tim Treanor, DC Theatre Scene, April 4, 2007

"Joe Banno's staging of this rarely seen sixteenth-century mixture of romance and war is a brisk, entertaining evening with a striking and consistent sense of style and a number of terrific performances. ... Jason McCool's youthful enthusiasm as Edward's son, the Prince of Wales known as "The Black Prince" is quite effective as well. ... McCool captures the adventurousness of youth in his eyes both as he gets his initial assignment to the battlefield and when he returns in triumph."
Brad Hathaway, Potomac Stages

kid simple

by Jordan Harrison

• February 17 – March 4, 2007

• Forum Theatre, Washington, DC

• directed by Jessica Burgess

• featuring Fiona Blackshaw, Kevin Boggs, Maggie Glauber Horn, Jason McCool, Jjana Valentiner, & Andrew Wassenich

what critics said:

"[A] remarkable production... under the shrewd direction of Jessica Burgess, this stylish offering will startle and intrigue theatergoers who are willing to devote their full powers of sight, hearing and concentration to the occasion. ... for hard-core theatergoers -- especially those with a taste for the literary and the zany -- the Forum production will strike with a satisfying ping."
Celia Wren, Washington Post, February 22, 2007

the resistable rise of arturo ui

by Bertolt Brecht

• October 4 – Nov 4, 2006

• Catalyst Theatre, Washington, DC

• winner, 2006 Helen Hayes Award for Best Ensemble, sponsored by the Canadian Embassy (inaugural presentation of award)

• directed by Christopher Gallu

• featuring Monalisa Arias, Scot McKenzie, Jason McCool, Scott McCormick, Andrew Price, Elizabeth Richards, John Tweel, & Grady Weatherford

what critics said:

"Let us now praise Jason McCool, as well, for the sweet dimness of his Young Dogsborough and the prim obtuseness of the books-cooking accountant Bowl."
Trey Graham, Washington City Paper, October 13, 2006

the arabian night

by Roland Schimmelpfennig

• July 1 – 30, 2006

• Rorschach Theatre, Washington, DC

• directed by Jenny McConnell-Frederick

• featuring Matt Dunphy, Nelina Giridhar, Jessica Hansen, Jason McCool, & Ed Xavier

what critics said:

"The style of acting ranges from fluid to wooden, with the liveliest contributions coming from Jason McCool, as a tenant who acts -- with disastrous results -- on his voyeuristic impulses, and Matt Dunphy, playing a well-intentioned boyfriend who lapses into faithlessness."
Peter Marks, Washington Post, July 8, 2006

"A slick 60-minute thriller with a chip on its urbane shoulder and a whiff of the supernatural in its nostrils."
Trey Graham, Washington City Paper, July 7, 2006

polaroid stories

by Naomi Iuzuka

• July 2003

• Studio Theatre (Secondstage),
  Washington, DC

• directed by Keith Alan Baker

• featuring Regina Aquino, Mayo Best, Catherine Deadman, Veronica del Cerro, Anthony Gallagher, Cesar Guadamuz, Scott Kerns, Jason McCool, Salma Qarnain, & Elizabeth Richards

what critics said:

"There's doubtless something to be said for a play that can find self-hatred in the mirror of a sissy-boy Narcissus (Cesar A. Guadamuz) and turn the Orpheus legend into the story of a trumpet-playing stalker (Jason McCool) whose Eurydice (Regina Aquino) flees from him into a drug hell of her own devising."
Trey Graham, Washington City Paper, August 1, 2003

dancing at lughnasa

by Brian Friel

• May 9 – June 9, 2002

• T. Schreiber Studio, New York City

• directed by Mary Boyer

• featuring Ann Burrows, Kathleen Fisher, Adrea Fletcher, Mary Beth Kowalski, Jason McCool, Robert Olsen, Elizabeth Quincy, & Fred Rueck

what critics said:

"Perfectly balanced Jason McCool, who plays the adult Michael and Narrator, holds the audience's attention during long monologues of exposition with aplomb. He has found a way to interact with the past without reverting to the child. His fluid interpretation of these characters fits but never takes over the stage. Best yet is his ability, while listening and reacting, to be still and quiet, a hard-learned lesson for many actors."
Catherine Lamm, Stage Press Weekly

"If you missed Brain Friel's Dancing at Lughnasa on Broadway back in the early 90s, you would have been well advised to see the fine adaptation recently presented by T. Schreiber Studio. ... As the narrator Michael, Jason McCool was, in fact, cool."
Michael Lazan, Backstage, June 28, 2002

"Because of its wealth of nuanced characters, Lughnasa is a dream for any ensemble – and Mary Boyer's young cast digs into the play with gusto."
Jason Zinoman, Time Out New York

"In this brilliant evocation of Friel's complex play, director Mary Boyer has skillfully blended myth, character, humor, and dance. ... This is a play that could go disastrously wrong, but in this production it goes magnificently well. The casting is perfect. ... When direction is accomplished consummately well, as it is here by Mary Boyer, it becomes invisible. There is the story, the characters, the language---with nothing standing between the audience and the miraculous experience of the play. And that's exactly as it should be."
Roy Sorrels, CultureVulture.net, May 11, 2002