Press

Nollywood Dreams, by Jocelyn Bioh, Produced by Round House Theater, -dir. Raymond Caldwell

https://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2022/06/17/gleeful-rom-com-nollywood-dreams-warms-the-stage-at-round-house/

“And that stage matches the cast in personality, featuring a gorgeously put-together carousel of locations at the center that turns to take us from the Okafor family travel agency to the revered offices of Nollywood studios, to Adenikeh’s gorgeous pink soundstage. Scenic design (Jonathan Dahm Robertson) brings the audience into the world of Lagos as well as into the hopeful feelings of the late 1990s.” -Gwenyth Sholar

Nixon In China, Produced bu The Princeton Festival, -dir. Steven LaCosse

https://princetoninfo.com/opera-review-nixon-in-china/?fbclid=IwAR1PRTH8FdBEjyVIIY35YS4m4dBS0fWO-MEm3BNH-uQrcMOBvSliNWd4zNc

“Jonathan Dahm Robertson does better than most in keeping projections timely and interesting while never letting them become obtrusive enough to dominate the music or libretto.” -Neal Zoren

https://parterre.com/2019/06/25/nixon-in-jersey-the-renixoning/

“This complex and multilayered work was given its due largely thanks to the scenic and projection design of Jonathan Dahm Robertson, full of projected headlines and news images as well as circuits and snowfalls and airplanes…” -John Yolahem

Blood at the Root, Produced by Theater Alliance, -dir. Raymond Caldwell

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/two-plays-set-at-the-intersection-of-race-and-violence-in-america/2019/03/05/8a2cdf10-3f61-11e9-922c-64d6b7840b82_story.html?utm_term=.a656b1e2f6be

“But it’s the design team that, together with the movement, adds the most polish. Jonathan Dahm Robertson’s set contributes to both realistic and hauntingly stylized scenes.” -Celia Wren

Pankrac ‘45, Produced by Expats Theatre, -dir. Karin Rsonizeck & Melissa Robinson

https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/538218/city-lights-expats-theatre-examines-the-persistence-of-authoritarianism/?fbclid=IwAR3aWjHzJ1GV7XzGFEbm9XmMnBNIe0Z53eiasqMPBi6vwfDt7axW3b0HoXs

“The minimalist set design and projections (both by [Jonathan] Dahm Robertson) are an ingenious framing device for Expats Theatre’s timely production of Czech playwright Martina Kinská’s Pankrác ’45.” -Ian Thal

https://www.broadwayworld.com/washington-dc/article/BWW-Review-PANKRC-45-at-Expats-Theatre-20211030

“The scenic design in this play could be considered as one of the main performers as the utilitarian yet very evocative and ingenious set propels the entire action of the play. Scenic Designer [Jonathan Dahm Robertson] adroitly uses the intimate theater space well, with a large wall of rows of identical-size units that configure into file cabinets, a bed, and coffins as the action unfolds. Robertson's use of intricately composed and historically accurate projections is nothing less than masterful. As the actors speak, the projections transition seamlessly and they convey emotional heft.” -Elliot Lanes

Butterfly, Produced by The INseries, -dir. Timothy Nelson

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/a-butterfly-without-the-stereotypes-takes-flight-at-in-series/2019/09/08/d1caf7ba-d25c-11e9-9343-40db57cf6abd_story.html

“The stage space, designed by Jonathan Dahm Robertson, was also at once deliberately claustrophobic and lovely.” -Anne Midgette

The Small Room at the Top of the Stairs, Produced by Spooky Action Theater, -dir. Helen Murray

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/spooky-action-theatres-small-room-for-patient-fans-of-the-offbeat/2018/05/23/beeeaba0-5dd2-11e8-b656-236c6214ef01_story.html?utm_term=.20f99e9ddb06

"Jonathan Dahm Robertson’s smart, minimalist set — a wooden platform and two matching enclosures — prompts us to imagine the baroque excesses of Henry’s house..." -Celia Wren

Candide, Produced by Opera in the Heights, -dir. Lynda McKnight

http://www.houstonpress.com/arts/review-candide-at-opera-in-the-heights-10390793

"In Jonathan Dahm Roberston's sparkling scene design, suitcases pile on each side of the stage; there's a globe on top; five white doors, as in a Feydeau farce, frame the backdrop; a projected TV news ticker crawls across the bottom: BREAKING NEWS: STUDY FINDS, THIS BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS. This so perfectly sets the tone that when the chorus bursts through the doors we immediately find ourselves in a comic book world." -D. L. Groover

Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill, Produced by The Anacostia Playhouse, -dir. Tom Flatt

http://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2017/07/17/review-lady-day-emersons-bar-grill-anacostia-playhouse/

"Jonathan Dahm Robertson’s set design is intimate perfection. Stepping from the lobby into the theater, you’re stepping from the present into a dark, swanky, and probably a little gritty past..." -Mike Bevel

Fidelio, Produced by The Princeton Festival, -dir. Steve LaCosse

http://www.talkinbroadway.com/page/regional/nj/nj743.html?cn=bWVudGlvbg%3D%3D

"Jonathan Dahm Robertson's effective prison set creates a world of existential darkness..." -Cameron Kelsall

Coolatully, Produced by Solas Nua, -dir. Rex Daugherty

http://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2017/03/14/review-coolatully-solas-nua/

"Jonathan Dahm Robertson’s simple and sturdy set... did all that was necessary to transport us from one scene to the next without ever leaving the sad remains of the bar run by Kilian and his mother." -Amy Kotkin

https://dctheatrescene.com/2017/03/13/coolatully-solas-nua-review/

"The set seems large, with plenty of different areas and lights and pieces of set dressing, but every single part is used. From the dwindling Christmas lights around the bar to the crossed hurling sticks, it all has its place as the show effortlessly moves from home to bar and back. Warm lighting shows just a touch of wear to every single floorboard, especially the two meaningfully loose ones. A better set or lighting rig may never be designed nor built for this exact show." -Marshall Bradshaw

 

The Christians, Produced by Theater J, -dir. Gregg Henry

http://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2016/11/21/review-christians-theater-j1/

"Thanks to set designer Jonathan Dahm Robertson, the stage is transformed into the altar of a  megachurch that reeks of corporate opulence.  It is ultra-modern..." -Ravelle Brickman

http://www.theatrebloom.com/2016/11/review-the-christians-at-theater-j/

"Scenic and Projection Designer Jonathan Dahm Robertson has set the stage in a manner that creates an evangelical atmosphere. The double pulpit, the trio of enormous hanging crosses, split by the projection screen, are all hallmarks of a church designed to preach service to the thousands. Robertson’s specific layout and subsequent live-feed projection of Pastor Paul fortifies the notion that theatergoers are attending a church service. Furthering still the immersive experience, Robertson projects hymn lyrics and bible verses onto the screen throughout the performance as it suits the sermon and overall progression of the service within the church." -Amanda N. Gunther

 

Broadway Bound, Produced by 1st Stage, -dir. Shirley Serotsky 

http://dctheatrescene.com/2016/11/16/broadway-bound-sets-another-critical-high-point-for-1st-stage-review/

"The play’s simultaneously running tracks... are effectively realized as a handsome two-level set of the interior of the Jerome home, designed by Jonathan Dahm Robertson." -Roy Mauer

http://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2016/11/13/review-broadway-bound-1st-stage/

 "It’s more about us breaking in, being invited into the parlor of the cozy, convincing, two-story 1949-era set designed by Jonathan Dahm Robertson.“What a set! I could live there,” one patron commented." -Terry Byrne

 

Peter Grimes, Produced by The Princeton Festival, -dir. Steve LaCosse

http://articles.philly.com/2016-06-23/entertainment/73949358_1_peter-grimes-ellen-orford-caroline-worra

"Jonathan Dahm Robertson's somewhat skeletal set design chooses function over decoration - that function being to reveal what's relevant about characters and their many subplots" -David Patrick Stearns, Philly.com

http://www.nj.com/times-entertainment/index.ssf/2016/06/classical_music_peter_grimes_o.html

"The set design ... suggests the wear and tear of the elements on seaside docks, tattered netting strewn everywhere – even over the supertitles – and ramshackle boardwalks serving as scaffolds, walkways and cliff tops" -Ross Amico, Times of Trenton

Kabarett & Cabaret, Produced by The In-Series, -dir. Sasha Olinick

http://dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2016/02/23/review-131/

"[The] Set Design (Dahm Robertson) enhances the “Cabaret” theme" -Sophia Howes, DC Metro Theater Arts

The Consul, Presented by the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute, - dir. Steven LaCosse

http://wfdd.org/post/aj-fletcher-opera-institute-presents-consul

"Jonathan Dahm Robertson designed the scenes and is responsible... for the awesome set changes." -Peter Perret, Classical Voice of North Carolina

Luiz Gazzola, Operalively.com:

"Set Design - truly excellent. The show starts with the deceptively simple and squalid apartment where the Sorels live, but then the walls slid left and right for different configurations, and the consulate scenes count on a sleek, beautiful, brightly lit set that looks very good and polished - as good as any in professional companies. Even the space for the supertitles is tastefully done. Scene changes are entertaining and done in front of the public, using supernumeraries also dressed as plainclothesmen, adding to the oppressive feeling. A++"

Projections: "The idea of projecting on the full stage imagery taken from official documents, stamps, and signatures, was truly brilliant."

 

Romeo and Juliet, produced by UNCSA - dir. Carl Forsman

"Jonathan Dahm Robertson’s set of simplistic geometric spaces, almost stone-like, painted a slate gray and scribed with Latin text was gorgeous, and the perfect neutral backdrop for the play. With opening and closing squares for doors and balconies, the set lent itself effortlesslyto the production, whose emphasis was less on setting and more on the universal story." -Brandon C. Jones, Classical Voice of North Carolina