JAMES PARENTI

ACTOR, PLAYWRIGHT, SONGWRITER, AND PRODUCER

// PRESS

Margin Notes: POPTART!

"... the chemistry between the players here is at its best when they're playing a song ... there's a healthy mixture of sparks and sweetness when this uniting thing, this love of music and creation, enters the equation. St. Cyr and Parenti have lovely voices, and it's a pleasure to hear them blend. All three actors bring a rich mix of strength and vulnerability ..." - Zelda Knapp

POPTART! to Play TADA! Theatre

“POPTART! is a new play by Krystle Phelps that takes a searing look at a pop star whose life unravels the night leading up to an important concert. Directed by Gwenevere Sisco, this production focuses on a diva with a major chip on her shoulder, her long-suffering personal assistant, and a washed up rock star looking for a paycheck. While not a traditional musical, the artists featured in the story perform live original music by James Parenti, Krystle Phelps, and Trish Phelps. Exploring themes of gender, race, and all things celebrity, POPTART! delves into the need to be truly heard ... even if you have nothing to say."

TALKIN' BROADWAY REGIONAL NEWS & REVIEWS: CONNECTICUT - "THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST" - 4/19/15

"The two male leads, Michael Raver and James Parenti, whose performances are simply sublime….carry the show with aplomb.  [Parenti is] divinely suave." - Zander Opper

A WORK UNFINISHING: 14 FOR '14! MY TOP THEATER PICKS

May Violets Spring is named one of the top 14 of 2014 by A Work Unfinishing!  "It was simply directed by Reesa Graham and beautifully acted by Gwenevere Sisco, James Parenti, and Monique St. Cyr." - Zelda Knapp

CT THEATER NEWS AND REVIEWS: A COMPELLING “ANGELS IN AMERICA”

“Singling out specific performances is therefore difficult, but special credit has to be given to Parenti, who gives us a witty, frightened, bedeviled (or be-angeled) Prior Walter, a man confronting his own humanity, his past and his lover’s betrayal. It’s a simply marvelous, multi-faceted performance.  Those aspiring to eventually trod the boards should attend and make mental notes …and learn…and be inspired.” - Geary Danihy

ANGELS IN AMERICA SOARS AT PLAYHOUSE ON PARK

“Prior Walter, played flawlessly by James Parenti.” - Diana Insolio

'ANGELS IN AMERICA' STILL MANAGES TO SOAR IN COMPACT PLAYHOUSE ON PARK SETTING

“James Parenti has the right pencil-thin look for the ailing Prior…one of the major heroic figures in this work, and Parenti does manage to convey his determination to confront his illness head on, frequently with a self-deprecating joke and an excoriating attitude…” - Andrew Beck

PLAYHOUSE'S 'ANGELS IN AMERICA' IMPRESSIV

“Parenti brings the right amount of humor, heartbreak and resiliency as Prior Walter.” - Frank Rizzo

BWW REVIEWS: PLAYHOUSE ON PARK'S ANGELS IN AMERICA: EXCELLENCE APPROACHES

“The cast is uniformly excellent with most actors playing two or more roles, allowing Kushner (and Playhouse on Park) to maintain the tricky balance between a large cast of characters and a somewhat modest number of bodies. Picking a standout in such a strong ensemble piece would appear to be unfair, but …James Parenti’s Prior Walter manages to be both tormented and fabulous.” - Jacques Lamarre

UPDATE: OFF-OFF BROADWAY RUN OF JAMES PARENTI’S 'MAY VIOLETS SPRING’ IS EXTENDED DUE TO POPULAR DEMAND

"The run of ‘May Violets Spring: A New Story for a New Ophelia’ has been extended through May 3 at Joria Productions Theatre." - Louise Burton

LETTERS FROM THE MEZZANINE | MAY VIOLETS SPRING

"James Parenti, who plays Hamlet (and who gave us a fantastic interview two weeks ago), adapted the canonical text, maintaining much of the original text but also writing some of his own where the women of Hamlet were otherwise silenced." - Zelda Knapp

LMEZZ INTERVIEWS: ACTOR/PLAYWRIGHT JAMES PARENTI

"James Parenti’s exciting new play 'May Violets Spring,' produced by Dare Lab, begins its run at Shetler Studios on April 16. Violets is a reworking of Hamlet as seen from the point of view of Ophelia…" - Zelda Knapp

A WORK UNFINISHING: MAY VIOLETS SPRING: NOT JUST SHREDS AND PATCHES

"In Dare Lab’s inaugural production, playwright James Parenti has capitalized on this dichotomous responsibility of Ophelia within the world of Elsinore with his deconstruction (or perhaps reconstruction) of Hamlet’s story - this time from Ophelia’s perspective." - Zelda Knapp

BWW REVIEWS: MAY VIOLETS SPRING: ELSEWORLD ELSINORE

“Dare Lab presents the new verse play ‘May Violets Spring’ in which James Parenti cleverly rewrites Hamlet to make Ophelia a central and active character … Parenti is an excellent Hamlet.” - Duncan Pflaster

MAY VIOLETS SPRING TO GIVE OPHELIA A VOICE AT SHETLER STUDIOS, 4/16-27

"In 2011, while preparing to play the title role in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Parenti became frustrated by Ophelia’s limited place in the story. Dreaming of a production of Hamlet that gave Ophelia a voice, over the next three years Parenti adapted the material himself. The result is a love letter to classical heroines slighted by the narratives of our past and too often in productions of the present."

THE POWER OF LOVE | OFFOFFONLINE

“Playing gods and mortals is itself not an easy task and only one that Turn to Flesh could achieve with an energetic ensemble: charming leading man James Parenti as Cupid…” - Jessica Taghap

REVIEW: CUPID AND PSYCHE BY STAGEBUDDY.COM

"The protagonist Cupid (James Parenti) … has a good physique for Cupid and can express malice as well as vulnerability. His commitment to the role is notable. [He] knows how to handle nuances, exposing personality, sensitivity and even humor." -  Paloma Chediak