The School for Lies
Shakespeare Theatre Company
"The true comic standouts are the virginal Eliante and the spinsterly Arsinoe... As the hilariously ardent Eliante, Dorea Schmidt nails it with comic abandon."
-Metro Weekly
"Dorea Schmidt’s Eliante, sweetly sincere and slightly loopy, is the most likeable character on stage. She handles the rapid reversals of her role with an air of winning, largely misplaced trust."
-DC Metro
"Schmidt's Eliante strikes the perfect balance between restrained and individualistic, executing a surprising amount of physical comedy in a gown larger than most wedding dresses."
-Broadway World
"Rest assured that Kahn gets excellent work from the entire ensemble, with highlights including... Dorea Schmidt’s hilariously frisky Eliante"
-MD Theatre
"Dorea Schmidt shows a great range as Eliante, at times seeming the purest character in the cast until she threatens to kill Frank... Somehow, Schmidt and Kahn fit both extremes believably within Eliante’s constant earnestness."
-DC Theatre Scene
Caroline, or Change
Round House Theatre
"Schmidt is vocally blessed with clarity, exacting delivery, and tonal control... Schmidt flawlessly traverses the emotional topography of her character’s narrative."
-Theatre Bloom
"Schmidt does a tremendous job in not only singing [the role], but navigating Rose's new reality, including figuring out the best way to interact with Caroline who couldn't be more different from her. She always appears at the verge of a breakdown, but keeps it all in."
-Broadway World
"Schmidt effectively portrays a woman desperate to be loved and to fit in with her own family, in the constant dark from the shadow of her deceased friend. At turns irritating and sympathetic, she turns Rose into a real person before our eyes.
-MD Theatre
"Dorea Schmidt is a wonderfully determined Rose Stopnick Gellman, aching to support Noah if only he would let her in."
-DC Metro
"Schmidt is every bit her dramatic equal as Rose, sincere in her concern for Caroline but daunted by her maid’s chilly insistence on treating her as merely the new Mrs. Gellman. They forge a believably uneasy relationship that propels the drama forward as tensions mount."
-Metro Weekly
Mary POPPINS
OLNEY Theatre CENTER
"Dorea Schmidt gives a bravura comic turn, at one point bringing the house down with one two-word exclamation."
-DC Metro
"Dorea Schmidt is brilliant as Mrs.Brill. [She] is hilarious... Her character has some great one-liners, and she doesn’t disappoint on delivery. Schmidt also plays the bird woman; her voice is amazing as she sings “Feed the Birds”"
-MD Theatre
Collective Rage (*Helen Hayes Award)
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
"Easily the breakout star of this particular production, Dorea Schmidt plays Betty Boop 2, a repressed housewife, more child than woman at times, who desperately wants to feel wanted, even by herself. She makes a complete dive into the absurd world of the play. The ending belongs to Schmidt as she brilliantly draws the audience into a very intimate and gentle place, that is so rare in such a large venue."
-MD Theatre
"Dorea Schmidt has to be the comic ringer of the production, and often without even intending to. Taking the largest transformative shift in the show, Schmidt dazzles the audience with her ability to go from meager and terrifyingly introverted to a wildly vivacious and explosively expressive zany character that no longer fears anything. Bringing the character’s arc around into a beautifully tight ring the song featured at the end is both sweet and sentimental, despite the framework snuggled around it. Responsible for some of the most uproarious moments in the play— like her off-the-wall rant about the lions and the crawling around with her hand-puppet friend— Schmidt is a hoot in the role of Betty Boop 2. ...Regardless of how she achieves this daring feat of dynamic transformation, she does so with great aplomb."
-Theatre Bloom
"Dorea Schmidt is the highlight as Betty 2... Her dramatic transformation is thrilling to behold, and Schmidt's delivery of one funny, emotional monologue about lions alone makes this worth seeing."
-Broadway World
"Dorea Schmidt makes a mesmerizing Woolly debut"
-DC Metro
"Schmidt's poignant performance will melt your heart"
-DC Metro
Oliver
Arena Stage
"["That's Your Funeral"]...brings the house down. Schmidt in particular gives her role an edge and intensity that makes the scene crackle."
-DC Metro
"'That's Your Funeral' [shines] with .... the wonderful pair, Tom Story and Dorea Schmidt"
-Broadway World
"Tom Story and Dorea Schmidt giddily ramp up the macabre camp as Mr. and Mrs. Sowerberry in “That’s Your Funeral,” a delightful, slightly sinister song"
-Metro Weekly
"Mr. and Mrs. Sowerberry (Tom Story and Dorea Schmidt) chew the scenery well in their one scene, which may have been the funniest of the entire night."
-DC Theatre
Carousel (*Helen Hayes Nomination)
Olney Theatre Center
"a long ovation greets Dorea Schmidt once she winds up “Mister Snow.” Schmidt is surprisingly funny, but it is her full-bodied singing that seals the deal. It plainly thrills a crowd hungry for this confident, velvet glove handling of both the acting and the music"
-The Washington Post
"Dorea Schmidt is absolutely delightful"
-DC Metro
"As Carrie Pipperidge, Dorea Schmidt is absolutely adorable... Her acting is top notch; she walks away with several scenes. And her take on being taken, in the Mister Snow reprise, leaves the audience howling."
-The Baltimore Post Examiner
fiddler on the roof
arena stage
"Tzeitel, played by Dorea Schmidt, gives an authentic, terrific acting performance. [Morgan and Schmidt] brought a tear to my eye as they bubbled over with love during “Miracle of Miracles.”
-MD Theatre
Crimes of the Heart
Everyman Theatre
"Schmidt is ideal as Babe, a woman who’s still part-teen inside, still naive and silly and unrestrained. The actress brings out all of those qualities in a portrayal that is as effortless as it is engaging... Schmidt makes you believe in everything.... In gesture and voice, Schmidt creates just the right force to send the story spinning. She gets some of the most crucial material....and she makes the most of it."
"[Dorea Schmidt] is one of the most interesting characters in the production. Schmidt finds the balance between her fragile inner flower and her bold as brass bombastic nature; flipping through them with ease. When Schmidt plays Babe as the delicate and emotionally withered woman there is a raw tenderness to her performance... But there is an excitable terror to Schmidt’s performance as well"
"As Babe, Miss Schmidt is a calf-eyed delight—so frank in her speech, so simple and forthright in her desires and impulses, you might mistake her as being a bit dim. However, Miss Schmidt shows that although petted and admired for her prettiness all through life, Babe has a will of iron and will always find a way to get what she wants."
-DC Theatre Scene
The Love of the Nightingale
Constellation Theatre Company
"Dorea Schmidt maintains a steady core strength and has the voice of an angel."
"The show’s pathos flows through Dorea Schmidt and Megan Dominy as Procne and Philomele, respectively, charming figures whose abuse triggers formidable rage from both performers"
-Washington Post
"...the other most commanding performance comes from Schmidt, who creates a layered portrait of the duty-bound but dissatisfied Procne. Schmidt gives Procne a strength of character that becomes more pronounced as the princess slowly finds her bearings in the foreign land of Thrace."
-The Washingtonian
The Beaux' Stratagem
Everyman Theatre
"Schmidt is graced with keen comic timing"
-DC Metro
"Dorea Schmidt is delightful"
Fiddler on the Roof Arena Stage
Collective Rage Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Black Comedy No Rules Theatre Company
Fiddler on the Roof Arena Stage