MICHAEL PACAS
ACTOR & SINGER
THEATRE: CRITICAL RESPONSE
CLARK GABLE SLEPT HERE
"Mr. Pacas, as her snide manager, is the type of character that one would love to slap across the head with a two x four, which means he’s nailing his part." - Jack Lyons, Desert Local News
"Michael Pacas delivers just the right combination of control, condescension, smarminess, and anger to make ‘Hilly’ a three dimensional character as opposed to the caricature he could soon easily become." - Stephen Radosh, Gay Desert Guide
"Michael Pacas’ Jarrod is spot on. He completely captures the shallow, self-important aura of a Hollywood agent: “This is not about a dead hooker—this is about ME!” Later on, he points out: “This is Hollywood; no one wants reality!” - Bonnie Galgallon, CV Independent
"Director Jim Strait is one of the funniest people I've ever met, and his wit shines through, via the actors' pacing and the uproarious stage business. Although Mr. McKeever's script needs pruning, the dialogue flies most of the time, as do the audience's guffaws." - Audrey Liebross. Broadway World
BARRYMORE
“Pacas exercises unusual talent in his varied and vivacious performance: He grapples gamely with each discordant bit, slipping into Shakespeare with earnest pathos and into memories of childhood with light-footed tenderness. Barrymore himself may have shied from so ambitious a task.” – Christopher Shea, TIME OUT CHICAGO
Critical Evaluation: *** (Three Stars)
“…an opportunity for Mr. Pacas to show his talent, and he does so with great comic timing as he takes us through the man trying to stage a comeback and revive his greatest achievement, playing Shakespeare's RICHARD III…There are many laughs in this production and a marvelous ending... Open your mind and your heart and have a wonderful 70 minutes at The Raven Theatre…” – Alan Bresloff, STEADSTYLE CHICAGO
Critical Evaluation: **** out of ****
“… Michael Pacas superbly recreates the look and style of Barrymore. Onstage for the entire evening, Pacas plays well off both the audience and Scott Sumerak, as Barrymore's frustrated, tart-tongued Prompter.” -Jack Helbig, THE CHICAGO READER
Critical Evaluation: Recommended
SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE
"Michael Pacas is the best renegade Boatman ever." - Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
"...Michael Pacas makes a wonderfully wry and full-voiced boatman." - Leah A. Zeldes, Chicago Theatre Blog
"Excellent support is also given by the very convincing Sara Stern as An Old Lady, the impressive Heather Townsend as Yvonne, Bil Ingraham as Jules, and Michael Pacas as the Boatman, and as mentioned, the entire ensemble." - Bill Beard, The Rock River Times
THE PRODUCERS
"Michael Pacas, in the lead role of Max Bialystock, gives one of the best performances I have seen. His presentation as a somewhat likable, yet unethical hustler doing whatever needs to be done to get the money, will keep you rooting for him even after this becomes his demise and he trades in his tux for striped pajamas. Pacas’ singing, dancing and overall showmanship is so captivating that he could be his own one man show and no doubt makes him a contender for upcoming award nominations." - - DeeJae Cox - Coachella Valley Weekly
"Mr. Pacas...is perfectly suited to play a smooth-talking con artist over whom ladies my age go gaga....the suave Mr. Pacas is crush material." - Audrey Liebross, Broadwayworld Palm Springs
CYRANO DE BERGERAC
"Despite the strength of his castmates, the show stealer is Mr. Pacas.... He makes the most of Rostand's flowery language and convincingly portrays both Cyrano's anger and his selflessness. Mr. Pacas must go from rage to self-sacrifice to devastation within the span of a few scenes. Not only does he pull it off perfectly, but his comedy is terrific... He very much deserves the standing ovation he received." - Audrey Liebross, Broadwayworld Palm Springs
“Cyrano de Bergerac (played with flair and style by the commanding presence of Michael Pacas) is a brash, strong-willed man of many talents. - Jack Lyons, DesertLocalNews.com
Michael Pacas, in the titular role, is every bit the tragic hero with a fatal flaw, that the story calls for. From the moment Pacas enters the stage, his swashbuckling performance is filled with raw energy that captivates the audience and refuses to let go until the final scene. - Dee Jae Cox, CV Weekly
BAREFOOT IN THE PARK
"The scene-stealers in this production turn out to be in the two mature character actors Sarah Minton, as Cory's aging but game for anything single mother and their upstairs, crazy neighbor played by Michael Pacas. Minton and Pacas are so good at their comic timing and so full of rich character and chemistry we ended up rooting for them to get together." - Kimberly Katz, BUZZChicago
"Pacas is pure goofy fun as the bearded European enigma who lives upstairs." Phil Potempa, The Times of Northwest Indiana
"...a zany cosmopolitan Albanian neighbor, Victor (delicious suave Michael Pacas)...Michael Pacas over-the-top Victor brilliantly helps mother to realize there is life after your daughter leaves the nest." - Tom Williams, ChicagoCritic.com.
"They have a new neighbor named Victor Velasco (Michael Pacas) who is a kind-of-Russian, kind-of-French person and causes everyone to make very bad choices with alcohol when they all go out. This show is about love, differences in personality, and changes. This was a really really fun show. It was hilarious, touching, and so much fun to be at. The acting was great and the story was so clever." Ada Grey Reviews for You