Reviews:
Accolades for Chess at Austin Playhouse:
"The star and true Queen of the chess board is Marita Stryker as Florence Vassy. Ms. Stryker is a beautiful woman whose looks are eclipsed by her acting skills and whose acting is eclipsed by her voice, and she is absolutely heartbreaking in the second act as she realizes that she is a pawn in the largest chess game of the century. And in the first act, Ms. Stryker triumphantly leads the cast in the gorgeous anthem “Nobody’s Side.” She is certainly an actress to watch. We will see great things from her in the future."
"Though the argument could be made that the two gentlemen in question share the lead role, most would agree that the real star of the show is Florence Vassy, and here she’s played by a skilled young woman by the name of Marita Stryker, who gives a show-stopping performance every moment she hits the stage. With her soaring voice and emotive face, her every feeling seeps into her soul, and it’s difficult to find an audience member whose heart doesn’t drop by play’s end, as she belts that last notes into the upper seats. Stryker is a veteran of many musicals, taking on stages all over the country, and that experience is clear the moment she hits the stage for this production."
"The woman who plays Florence (the female in our Russian/American love triangle) can sing. And by sing, I mean si-ing. Wowsa."
"Marita Stryker’s Florence carries the show on her voice."
Accolades for Crazy for You at Zilker Summer Musicals:
"As Polly the ‘you’ that Bobby is crazy for, Marita Stryker is no less wholesome but her sweetness is seasoned with a frontier spunk and a helluva roundhouse swing. When Stryker plants her feet with her hands on her hips, it’s clear her Polly is more than a match for the deadbeats of Deadrock - which may be why the sight of her leaning against a post, gazing into the distance as she tenderly sings ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ is all the more affecting. Her voice is the voice of morning, fresh and bright and full of promise.
As you hope to see in romantic comedies, a nice chemistry develops between the two leads. Here, it comes through nowhere more clearly than in the dances. Addison and Stryker move through Thompson-Price’s Astaire-Rogers steps in sync and without apparent effort, as if their joined motion were the most natural thing in the world. When they tilt back, lifting their right legs in unison, it looks like a single movement. Illuminated in one of designer Robert Whyburn’s moonbeams, Stryker springs into a lift, and Addison seamlessly follows through with the carry upward, the two flowing into each other like water.”
Honors and Awards:
Austin Critics Table Awards
Best Supporting Actress for Lucy in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown at Austin Musical Theatre
Best Supporting Actress for Peron’s Mistress in Evita at Zachary Scott Theatre
Austin Critics Table Nomination
Best Actress for Polly in Crazy for You at Zilker Theatre Productions
B. Iden Payne Award Nomination
Best Actress for Florence in Chess at Austin Playhouse and SummerStock Austin
Accolades for Chess at Austin Playhouse:
"The star and true Queen of the chess board is Marita Stryker as Florence Vassy. Ms. Stryker is a beautiful woman whose looks are eclipsed by her acting skills and whose acting is eclipsed by her voice, and she is absolutely heartbreaking in the second act as she realizes that she is a pawn in the largest chess game of the century. And in the first act, Ms. Stryker triumphantly leads the cast in the gorgeous anthem “Nobody’s Side.” She is certainly an actress to watch. We will see great things from her in the future."
- Broadway World
"Though the argument could be made that the two gentlemen in question share the lead role, most would agree that the real star of the show is Florence Vassy, and here she’s played by a skilled young woman by the name of Marita Stryker, who gives a show-stopping performance every moment she hits the stage. With her soaring voice and emotive face, her every feeling seeps into her soul, and it’s difficult to find an audience member whose heart doesn’t drop by play’s end, as she belts that last notes into the upper seats. Stryker is a veteran of many musicals, taking on stages all over the country, and that experience is clear the moment she hits the stage for this production."
- Examiner.com
"The woman who plays Florence (the female in our Russian/American love triangle) can sing. And by sing, I mean si-ing. Wowsa."
- Ann Pittman Blog
"Marita Stryker’s Florence carries the show on her voice."
- Austin Chronicle
Accolades for Crazy for You at Zilker Summer Musicals:
"As Polly the ‘you’ that Bobby is crazy for, Marita Stryker is no less wholesome but her sweetness is seasoned with a frontier spunk and a helluva roundhouse swing. When Stryker plants her feet with her hands on her hips, it’s clear her Polly is more than a match for the deadbeats of Deadrock - which may be why the sight of her leaning against a post, gazing into the distance as she tenderly sings ‘Someone to Watch Over Me’ is all the more affecting. Her voice is the voice of morning, fresh and bright and full of promise.
As you hope to see in romantic comedies, a nice chemistry develops between the two leads. Here, it comes through nowhere more clearly than in the dances. Addison and Stryker move through Thompson-Price’s Astaire-Rogers steps in sync and without apparent effort, as if their joined motion were the most natural thing in the world. When they tilt back, lifting their right legs in unison, it looks like a single movement. Illuminated in one of designer Robert Whyburn’s moonbeams, Stryker springs into a lift, and Addison seamlessly follows through with the carry upward, the two flowing into each other like water.”
- Austin Chronicle
Honors and Awards:
Austin Critics Table Awards
Best Supporting Actress for Lucy in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown at Austin Musical Theatre
Best Supporting Actress for Peron’s Mistress in Evita at Zachary Scott Theatre
Austin Critics Table Nomination
Best Actress for Polly in Crazy for You at Zilker Theatre Productions
B. Iden Payne Award Nomination
Best Actress for Florence in Chess at Austin Playhouse and SummerStock Austin