For years, Brennen has shown herself to have a sharp understanding of the psychology of characters in realistic dramas. But last season she directed not only the realist All My Sons and Talley’s Folly, but also the absurdist The Chairs, and in each case her work was intelligent and truthful. In All My Sons, she choreographed 10 characters so ably that Arthur Miller’s moral parable unfolded with riveting efficiency. In Talley’s Folly she managed to make an underplotted duet hold an audience’s attention for an hour and a half. And in The Chairs she demonstrated a mind-blowing, microscopic command of wacky detail. Brennen’s well-known for her prickly personality, but she ought to be known for something else too — as a deeply talented theater artist. – Mark E. Leib
This article appears in Sep 7-13, 2005.
