“Schotter is very perceptive about the push and pull of relationships within families, that complex minuet in which power struggles surface out of nowhere and patterns of behavior are replicated from generation to generation.”
–Dan Aucoin, The Boston Globe
“As played by [Ken] Baltin, Charlie [Sussman] exudes the dissatisfied restlessness of a man unmellowed by age and disinclined to rest of his laurels, which includes two Tony Awards….Charlie is one of those exasperating people who always find a way to steer the subject to himself, no matter what the topic of conversation.”
“Theatregoers should find nearly two hours of engaging harmony about love and sexual identity in The Sussman Variations.”
–Bay Windows
“Some plays have an uncanny way of striking a chord with audiences, not necessarily because they identify with the experience onstage, but because they’re beautifully and thoughtfully crafted.”
—The Theatre Mirror
“This sweet New England drama is about the differences within each member of a family and the similarities that they share. Although it features the charming music of Phil Schroeder, it is not a musical. Individual performances are used a plot devises. . .The music is a character of its own serving as the intermediary between characters who want to connect through words but cannot. Music gives us glimpses of vulnerability as characters removes their masks or put them on an as they perform.”
–Sheila Barth, New England Theatre Geek