Press

“Eliyana Abraham’s staging moves deftly between intense passages in which unexpected love takes root, buds, and blooms to burgeoning and mundane sequences that show the everyday give-and-take of Iowa farmwife. A conversation between strangers leads to unintended flirtation, intimacy, and passion in a way that makes the Summer Theater audience fall as much in love with the involved couple as they fall in love with each other. Scenes that offset this romance show the contrast between the special and the usual in a natural way that is never jarring."

"Her 2024 production of The Last Five Years elevated the status of Princeton Summer Theater by giving it a more professional sheen and a promise of the work that could be done there. The Bridges of Madison County eclipses the achievement of The Last Five Years and now ranks as the best work I’ve seen at Summer Theater since I began reviewing there a decade or so ago. Some of the same reasons — tasteful direction and sharp-eyed casting — contribute to these successes."

- Neal Zoren, US1 | FULL REVIEW

“Abraham’s mounting is spare yet nuanced and detailed enough for Brown’s story, told almost entirely through song, to emerge in a clear, lively fashion. Almost every choice Abraham makes enhances Brown’s intentions and the general production while never overwhelming it. She is canny in placing the character not in action onstage, obviously not responding to what the other character is doing — he or she can’t know that — but giving some structure and texture to a scene by, say, letting us watch Jamie scribble on a notepad in their New York apartment while Cathy laments his absence and sings about bonding with some fellow actors in Ohio. Abraham’s production entertains throughout.”

- Neal Zoren, US1 | FULL REVIEW

“Eliyana Abraham directs an insightful, polished production that develops multiple themes in the musical, while showcasing the considerable talents of the professional cast members. In a program note Abraham writes that she is excited by the show’s “exploration of time, space, and proximity as it exists in a marriage, and how these things change as relationships change.” What makes this production successful is the extent to which Abraham is able to develop these concepts in the staging of the piece.”

- Donald Sanborn, Town Topics | FULL REVIEW

“Eliyana Abraham and an able cast work hard to elicit the texture within Park’s piece. Abraham understands the play’s various notes, including that it gives you no one to root for, and accentuates comic bits and nuances to keep ‘Peerless’ entertaining and to provide some suspense about whether one character or another will have the nerve to carry out his or her reprehensible plan.”  

- Neal Zoren, US1 | FULL REVIEW

"With Peerless, PST closes its season with a play that examines relevant cultural issues from a fresh perspective, while entertaining the audience with some lively characterizations and a slick production that manages to simultaneously belie and reinforce the piece’s dark undercurrent." 

- Donald Sanborn, Town Topics | FULL REVIEW