Stan Klimecko
Actor-Director
'Director Greg Natale has assembled a dream cast for this production.
Coming from his recent triumph as sleazy Cosmo Vittelli in the Torn Space Theater adaptation of John Cassavetes’ “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie,” actor Stan Klimecko seems to have trademarked onstage creepiness. As Ed, the way he exudes perverse delight while leering at Mr. Sloane simultaneously makes our skin crawl and triggers uncontrollable giggles. He embodies the character wholly and convincingly …"
Anthony Chase-Buff News
"The roles of the siblings are well-assayed. Indeed, the brother and sister characters are crucial to the play’s success. As a four hander, the script calls for deft interaction among the actors...The more worldly brother equally sees Mr. Sloane as a younger boy he wants nearer. Klimecko is excellent in his shifting forgiveness and ruthlessness.
The laughs come often and solidly, and with little dialogue reference to the era in which it was written, the play works decades after I first saw it...
With crisp direction by Greg Natale and a solid command of script by the quartet of actors, Irish Classical Theatre has a hit on its hands.'
"Stan Klimecko is Cosmo and he is marvelous as the small-time club owner. Instead of just another creepy guy thinking he is about something, Mr. Klimecko offers up a man who carries his heart on his sleeve in his love for his club and his girls. He imbues Cosmo with a sweetness that surprises given the world he has created for himself, while at the same time he is clearly subject to the pitfalls of that world."
Ann Marie Cusella-Buffalo Vibe
“It works. Moving the film's action from the sprawling city's gritty streets to the confines of the theater space puts the audience in the center of the action. We are so close that, as for Cosmo, there is no escape, no looking away.
Stan Klimecko wouldn't let us look away if we wanted to. Without the program notes to tell us otherwise, you would think Klimecko as running a real Crazy Horse West burlesque club when Shanahan found him. In shiny suit and satin shirt, he greets his audience and speaks with unvarnished pride about his shows, about his business, about his success. He clearly believes everything he says, even if we don't.
Visceral, unpredictable and desperately human, you might not want to know Cosmo but you won't forget him.”
Melinda Miller-Gusto
“And Director Shanahan put some first-class talent on stage. Talent that, to quote Vincent Canby again, provided that “loving care.”
Stan Klimecko plays Cosmo Vitelli, the fellow who loves his performers, his club, and his life’s mission with such fierce sincerity that there’s never a false note. Klimecko’s experience and way of moving around a stage provide that calm assurance that let’s you know that you’re in good hands.”
Peter Hall-Buffalo Rising
"Here we meet Cosmo Vittelli, played with crude sincerity by Stan Klimecko. Cosmo is the owner of a sleazy burlesque club called the “Crazy Horse West.” The guy has a rough and worldly exterior, but in reality, he is a total innocent and has no class.....he is affecting and sympathetic, and makes for a persuasive protagonist."
Anthony Chase-WBFO Theatertalk
" In addition to the memorable tunes from the show ("Who Can I Turn To?", "Feeling Good," "The Joker"), it features the sort of quasi-vaudevillian dialogue and physical shtick that fans of classic theater will love.
This is especially true with Klimecko's character, an unapologetic aristocrat given to dispensing unrequested knowledge and grandiose declarations such as, "By the sacred whorehouses of Marrakech!"
Klimecko is marvelous in the role, clearly reveling in his character's hypocrisy and delivering it all with an engaging voice and manner."
Colin Dabkowski-Buffalo News
"An attentive and close ensemble pays extra attention to many raw moments. As parents Otto and Edith Frank, Caitlin Baeumler Coleman and Stan Klimecko are fearful caregivers. They hold onto their children for strength even when their children need it more. How they don’t crumble is anyone’s guess. Fine performances from both"
Ben Segal-Buffalo News
"It’s hard to elevate any one acting performance, because they were all spectacular ... both Stan Klimecko and Caitlin Baeumler Coleman gave masterful performances as the Frank parents" "as we learn through a transcending final monologue from Otto Frank (Stan Klimecko)"
Colin Fleming Stumf-Buffalo Theatre Guide
"Stan Klimecko, who seems to specialize in monstrous characters of American post-war realism, creates a particularly vivid Boss Finley."
Anthony Chase-Artvoice
"Stan Klimecko fills the bill nicely as the blustery, volatile Boss Finley"
Grant Golden-Buffalo Rising
"The play’s action is started by Stan Klimecko as “James” making a phone call at 4 a.m. to “Bill.” Klimecko nails the role of nervous, angry, bewildered middle-aged man with a tendency to violence. Absolutely believable." Peter Hall-Buffalo Rising
"Villains are the highlight in Kavinoky’s ‘Wait Until Dark"
"It is the bad guys, however, who make this show...Stan Klimecko as the phony Sgt. Carlino grabs his throwback part with hardboiled gusto."
Melinda Miller-Gusto
"Stan Klimecko finds a new way to play Stanley"
Anthony Chase
"As Stanley Kowalski, Williams' testosterone driven jack-in-the-box, Stan Klimecko turns in an alternately spine-chilling and sensitive performance that points up the emotional volatility of the character"
Colin Dabkowski
"Mitch, Stanley's poker-playing buddy and Blanche's last romantic hope is played by Stan Klimecko with a range that makes him more than a wimp with a mother complex. He lends a tenderness to the part and not a little violence."
Richard Huntington-Buffalo News
