“And as his adoptive mother, the company’s ubiquitous mainstay, Suzan Hanson, always an impressively flexible and lovely singer (she will appear solo in LBO’s next production of Poulenc’s version of Cocteau’s La Voix Humaine), has matured from a good actress to one so in command of her inflections and effects that I for one would love to see her tackle straight acting roles as well.”
Myron Meisel - Stage Raw
“Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Philip avoids the questions of his worried mom, Colleen (sung with a sterling radiance by LBO mainstay Suzan Hanson), even as he’s haunted by the deaths of a fellow Marine and an innocent Iraqi mother he killed.”
Falling James - LA Weekly
“Hanson’s Colleen delivers a soulful and gut-wrenching aria to her son Philip, saying “We’ve been here before” and promising, “I will listen” before finally admitting that, “…this war has made a monster out of me.”
Natalie Mann - Singerpreneur
“War, of course, supplies a special hell for mothers. The profoundly moving tears of Philip's mother (Suzan Hanson) and Wissam's (Ani Maldjian) flow from the same source.”
Mark Swed - Los Angeles Times
“His adopted mother, Colleen, played with devastating intensity by Suzan Hanson, has come to be with him. But Phillip, literally and metaphorically, is incapable of unlocking the door to let her in.”
Jim Farber - San Francisco Classical Voice