PRESS

WHAT THE PRESS HAS BEEN SAYING ABOUT MIKE DAISEY

"The master storyteller—one of the finest solo performers of his generation. What distinguishes him from most solo performers is how elegantly he blends personal stories, historical digressions and philosophical ruminations. He has the curiosity of a highly literate dilettante and a preoccupation with alternative histories, secrets large and small, and the fuzzy line where truth and fiction blur. Mr. Daisey’s greatest subject is himself."
NEW YORK TIMES

"A charismatic performer, his shows have the insightful hostility of the best comedy."
THE NEW YORKER

"Daisey's skill is that he is able to talk about the historical and make it human, the personal and make it universal, so that the listener is both informed and transformed."
PAPER MAGAZINE

"Mike Daisey has a masterful command of his art. Sitting alone at a simple desk, he is all-powerful for 100 minutes. When he wants you to laugh, you laugh; when he wants you to think, you think—his thoughtful, probing manner sometimes flares into Lewis Black–style outrage. He is at all times exactly himself, yet in subtle ways, he winds up speaking for everyone. He doesn’t draw you into the stories he tells—instead he shows how, perhaps unawares, you have been part of them all along."
TIME OUT NEW YORK

"Mike Daisey has proven himself that rare theatrical creature: An entertaining performer with something valuable to say—gripping and vital."
VARIETY

"Sharp-witted, passionately delivered talk about matters both small and huge, at once utterly individual and achingly universal."
BOSTON GLOBE

"There is nothing minimalist about this monologuist—if Lenny Bruce was embodied by Zero Mostel and played by Louis Armstrong, the result would closely resemble Mike Daisey."
BROADWAY WORLD

"A monologuist who always threatens to burst out of his chosen form—funny, literate and provocative."
CHICAGO TRIBUNE

"Mike Daisey does what Michael Moore once did for General Motors."
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

"Mike Daisey rides two rails—tragic comedy and patriotic outrage—that identify him as a direct descendant of Mark Twain."
THE STRANGER

"Daisey is a brainy, manic hoot, a cross between Noam Chomsky and Jack Black."
SEATTLE TIMES

"The new memoir is a monologue, and Mike Daisey is its rising star."
BOSTON HERALD

"He doesn't pull punches. Daisey has wreaked his own brand of havoc."
WASHINGTON POST

"He's a crazy-good storyteller."
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"Daisey distills vast sources of disparate knowledge, delivered with scathing anger, humor and a sort of gentle wisdom. He's the History Channel, the best of public radio, and the most entertaining guy at the bar, but much, much better."
METRO

"His stories are sweet or strange or a bit sad with comic edging."
VILLAGE VOICE

"Between Spalding Gray and Robin Williams."
NEW YORK POST

"Mike Daisey makes storytelling sexy."
L MAGAZINE

"A powerhouse…Daisey exudes honesty and has a flair for performance; these traits are present in just-right proportions for irresistible storytelling."
SF WEEKLY

"Comic delivery so sharp it draws blood."
SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

"A large man of unstoppable energy, he’s a fast, inventive, exceptionally funny storyteller with crisp comic timing and an amazingly flexible voice."
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

"Blessed with both an amazingly expressive face and impeccable comic timing, Daisey attacks with a ferocity that draws huge laughs out of the smallest joke, and sidesplitting banshee howls out of the big jokes."
PORTLAND MERCURY

"After seeing Mike Daisey performing for the first time, I was instantly taken by his exuberant performance style and perceptive and provocative material. Mike is one of the smartest and most provocative solo artists you will ever see, creating his work from a mixture of topical research and personal stories."
HOWARD SHALWITZ, Artistic Director of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

"Mike Daisey is funny, earnest, wonderful company and so smart he'd burn holes in the ground if he wasn't wearing shoes—he is the kind of theatre artist who ennobles our profession."
OSKAR EUSTIS, Artistic Director of The Public Theater

"Jackie Gleason meets Kafka."
TONY TACCONE, Artistic Director of Berkeley Repertory Theater