Reviews
The Night Watch [U.S. Premiere, The Gamm Theatre, Dir. Tony Estrella]
“Meg Kiley Smith plays two roles beautifully in her Gamm debut."
Dave Christner, Newport Daily News
“The performances from the cast, too, are memorable and strong…Kiley Smith as Mrs. Leonard, the Mary Baker Eddy-ish Christian Science practitioner, is hilarious.”
Peter Goldberg, The Westerly Sun
“Meg also portrays Julia whose love life is intertwined with two other characters. She gives her the backbone to stand up to Helen’s outburst in the first act, then in the second delivers a more caring woman interested in Helen’s welfare especially during the blitz attacks. Meg does a marvelous job as both characters being more comic as Mrs. Leonard and more serious as Julia.”
Tony Annicone, Theater Mirror
“The characterizations are richly textured and the performances are strong across the board… Meg Kiley Smith, as Julia, [is] engaging and believable."
Joe Siegel, Edge Media Network
All My Sons [National Tour with Montana Repertory Theatre, Dir. Jere Lee Hodgin]
"Meg Kiley Smith...is engaging as Annie. She evokes the optimism of Laura Dern's role in Wild and the sweetness of Rosamund Pike's Jane in Pride and Prejudice. She has great chemistry with Colton Swibold...Together, they form a kind of hopeful resistance toward a past that weighs them down."
Erika Fredrickson, Missoula Independent
"All My Sons should be considered one of the best productions in the history of the Montana Rep...While this is a true ensemble piece, the work of several members went above and beyond, delivering truly epic performances worth of recognition. Among those who truly delivered...Smith showed us that living with a secret makes us do things that are not always in our best interests."
Bob Leggett, LA Music Critic
The Turn of the Screw [Everyday Inferno, Dir. Anais Koivisto]
"The actors turn in solid performances, particularly Meg Kiley Smith as the good-spirited and probably insane governess. Smith draws all eyes to her even when she’s not speaking; such is her total embodiment of this role. Her governess is a stunted woman desperate to find human connection in the most questionable of characters. A more standard interpretation might have had the governess shrieking at every ghastly opportunity, but with support from the creative team of this excellent production, Smith finds great depth in the character and is never afraid to suggest that this caregiver may be one of the sources of these nightmarish events."
Eric J. Grimm, Theater Pizzazz
"Leading the ensemble was Meg Kiley Smith as the Governess in a tour de force performance. Smith commanded the stage, giving her character the wonderful journey of strong woman to potential insanity."
Michael Block, Theater in the Now
"We never know if the governess is really seeing the spirits, or if she’s going mad. This is emphasized by Ms. Smith’s performance as the Governess, which strikes the perfect balance between sympathetic and paranoid."
Dave Osmundsen, Theatre Is Easy
"The piece moves seamlessly and swiftly and is very well acted, particularly by Meg Kiley Smith as the Governess slipping into madness..."
Sarah B. Roberts, Adventures in the Endless Pursuit of Entertainment
Pericles [Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Dir. Brian B. Crowe]
"Corey Tazmania, Meg Kiley Smith and Amaya Murphy as the production's chorus have to convey an extraordinary amount of information which they do with effortless clarity, smooth poetic phrasing, and a spoken harmony of sound that is striking."
Bob Rendell, Talkin' Broadway
"Director Crowe has split the original Chorus role into three, with Corey Tazmania, Meg Kiley Smith and Amaya Murphy sharing the narration needed to bridge the gaps between episodes and signal the intervention of the divine. The change is for the better: in the original, the Chorus was a medieval male poet named John Gower; here the three actresses are easy on the eyes and ears, and provide a link to the goddess Diana."
Ruth Ross, NJ Arts Maven
A Most Dangerous Woman [World Premiere, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Dir. Richard Maltby, Jr.]
"Meg Kiley Smith is literally every—other—woman and Everywoman, as she articulates thoughts and characters and a multitude of females within that era in a chewy challenge of changing roles."
Sherri Rase, QOnStage
“The playwright ingeniously staged various scenes from George Eliot’s output, most notably from latter chapters of “Adam Bede.” We hear a young woman’s riveting confession to burying alive her newborn baby..."
Richard Carter, Examiner.com
Money [Theatre Row, Dir. Gerald Moshell]
“The main reasons to see this show are the performances by the quartet of young singers. Each is a fine singer, particularly Ms. Smith whose rich soprano soared. They are, all four, adept and bright-eyed and give this material an energy that a less able cast couldn’t approach.”
Joel Benjamin, Theaterscene.net
"The three supporting players have those wild 'n' crazy looks that we saw in off-Broadway musicals of yore: the clowns, the comics, the ones with oversized personalities who were forces of nature and could play completely new characters one second after they'd finished their last ones. Bravo to Logan Keeler, David Andrew Laws and Meg Kiley Smith for showing us that unique performers haven't gone the way of the drive-in movie theaters and TV westerns that were popular when MONEY was first produced."
Peter Filichia, Theatre World Awards
Oliver Twist [Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Dir. Brian B. Crowe]
“The 13 actors, most of whom capably portray several characters apiece...neatly and energetically morph from one individual to another…Meg Kiley Smith (after showing her claws as a vicious maid) is perfectly lovely as [Mr. Brownlow's] daughter.”
Michael Sommers, New York Times
“Meg Kiley Smith is wickedly charming as Charlotte, a servant to Mrs. Sowerberry, but then she also does an excellent job as the sweet and loving Rose Brownlow, sister to the orphan's late mother.”
Janine M. Torsiello, Morris Beats
“Meg Kiley Smith plays two roles beautifully in her Gamm debut."
Dave Christner, Newport Daily News
“The performances from the cast, too, are memorable and strong…Kiley Smith as Mrs. Leonard, the Mary Baker Eddy-ish Christian Science practitioner, is hilarious.”
Peter Goldberg, The Westerly Sun
“Meg also portrays Julia whose love life is intertwined with two other characters. She gives her the backbone to stand up to Helen’s outburst in the first act, then in the second delivers a more caring woman interested in Helen’s welfare especially during the blitz attacks. Meg does a marvelous job as both characters being more comic as Mrs. Leonard and more serious as Julia.”
Tony Annicone, Theater Mirror
“The characterizations are richly textured and the performances are strong across the board… Meg Kiley Smith, as Julia, [is] engaging and believable."
Joe Siegel, Edge Media Network
All My Sons [National Tour with Montana Repertory Theatre, Dir. Jere Lee Hodgin]
"Meg Kiley Smith...is engaging as Annie. She evokes the optimism of Laura Dern's role in Wild and the sweetness of Rosamund Pike's Jane in Pride and Prejudice. She has great chemistry with Colton Swibold...Together, they form a kind of hopeful resistance toward a past that weighs them down."
Erika Fredrickson, Missoula Independent
"All My Sons should be considered one of the best productions in the history of the Montana Rep...While this is a true ensemble piece, the work of several members went above and beyond, delivering truly epic performances worth of recognition. Among those who truly delivered...Smith showed us that living with a secret makes us do things that are not always in our best interests."
Bob Leggett, LA Music Critic
The Turn of the Screw [Everyday Inferno, Dir. Anais Koivisto]
"The actors turn in solid performances, particularly Meg Kiley Smith as the good-spirited and probably insane governess. Smith draws all eyes to her even when she’s not speaking; such is her total embodiment of this role. Her governess is a stunted woman desperate to find human connection in the most questionable of characters. A more standard interpretation might have had the governess shrieking at every ghastly opportunity, but with support from the creative team of this excellent production, Smith finds great depth in the character and is never afraid to suggest that this caregiver may be one of the sources of these nightmarish events."
Eric J. Grimm, Theater Pizzazz
"Leading the ensemble was Meg Kiley Smith as the Governess in a tour de force performance. Smith commanded the stage, giving her character the wonderful journey of strong woman to potential insanity."
Michael Block, Theater in the Now
"We never know if the governess is really seeing the spirits, or if she’s going mad. This is emphasized by Ms. Smith’s performance as the Governess, which strikes the perfect balance between sympathetic and paranoid."
Dave Osmundsen, Theatre Is Easy
"The piece moves seamlessly and swiftly and is very well acted, particularly by Meg Kiley Smith as the Governess slipping into madness..."
Sarah B. Roberts, Adventures in the Endless Pursuit of Entertainment
Pericles [Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Dir. Brian B. Crowe]
"Corey Tazmania, Meg Kiley Smith and Amaya Murphy as the production's chorus have to convey an extraordinary amount of information which they do with effortless clarity, smooth poetic phrasing, and a spoken harmony of sound that is striking."
Bob Rendell, Talkin' Broadway
"Director Crowe has split the original Chorus role into three, with Corey Tazmania, Meg Kiley Smith and Amaya Murphy sharing the narration needed to bridge the gaps between episodes and signal the intervention of the divine. The change is for the better: in the original, the Chorus was a medieval male poet named John Gower; here the three actresses are easy on the eyes and ears, and provide a link to the goddess Diana."
Ruth Ross, NJ Arts Maven
A Most Dangerous Woman [World Premiere, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Dir. Richard Maltby, Jr.]
"Meg Kiley Smith is literally every—other—woman and Everywoman, as she articulates thoughts and characters and a multitude of females within that era in a chewy challenge of changing roles."
Sherri Rase, QOnStage
“The playwright ingeniously staged various scenes from George Eliot’s output, most notably from latter chapters of “Adam Bede.” We hear a young woman’s riveting confession to burying alive her newborn baby..."
Richard Carter, Examiner.com
Money [Theatre Row, Dir. Gerald Moshell]
“The main reasons to see this show are the performances by the quartet of young singers. Each is a fine singer, particularly Ms. Smith whose rich soprano soared. They are, all four, adept and bright-eyed and give this material an energy that a less able cast couldn’t approach.”
Joel Benjamin, Theaterscene.net
"The three supporting players have those wild 'n' crazy looks that we saw in off-Broadway musicals of yore: the clowns, the comics, the ones with oversized personalities who were forces of nature and could play completely new characters one second after they'd finished their last ones. Bravo to Logan Keeler, David Andrew Laws and Meg Kiley Smith for showing us that unique performers haven't gone the way of the drive-in movie theaters and TV westerns that were popular when MONEY was first produced."
Peter Filichia, Theatre World Awards
Oliver Twist [Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Dir. Brian B. Crowe]
“The 13 actors, most of whom capably portray several characters apiece...neatly and energetically morph from one individual to another…Meg Kiley Smith (after showing her claws as a vicious maid) is perfectly lovely as [Mr. Brownlow's] daughter.”
Michael Sommers, New York Times
“Meg Kiley Smith is wickedly charming as Charlotte, a servant to Mrs. Sowerberry, but then she also does an excellent job as the sweet and loving Rose Brownlow, sister to the orphan's late mother.”
Janine M. Torsiello, Morris Beats