Reviews
Florida Rep's Art of Murder by Joe DiPietro Burttram turns in a steely, measured performance... The actress seems to visibly inhabit the skin of unhappy, creatively frustrated and emotionally stifled artist Annie; her attention the tiniest details of tone, inflection and blocking show in a mesmerizing performance. Her journey from cowering mouse to methodical murderess over the course of two hours is fascinating, while her carefully blase but passion-riddled delivery is the perfect vehicle to deliver a scathing indictment on men, marriage and the modern art world... Chris Silk Naples Daily News March 23, 2009
Florida Rep's
Amy's View
by David Hare
Carol Lawrence and Burttram play well off of each other, making their mother-daughter relationship authentic. Sometimes they are laughing and confiding; other times arguing. When the arguments happen, they seem so real, they pierce the heart. When the explosions occur, both actresses stay away from overplaying, though. They inject just the right amount of emotion.
Burttram's character evolves throughout the play from a love-struck girl, skipping around her mother's house happily, to a more mature married woman with children, to a distraught woman who has been betrayed by her husband. Of all the actors, Burttram's English accent is perhaps the most developed and believable.
Tiffany Yates
Naples Daily News
March 26, 2004
Florida Rep's
Dancing at Lughnasa
by Brian Friel
Much of the quiet beauty of this production arises from the fact that it is performed by what amounts to a near-permanent ensemble of Florida-based actors. They fit together like an oft-assembled jigsaw puzzle, and the unanimity with which they enact Mr. Friel's tragicomedy is profoundly satisfying. Of the five sisters, Ms. Burttram, Michelle Damato, Carrie Lund, Lisa Morgan and Jan Wikstrom, I can say nothing better than that they act just like a real-life family: Each one creates a wholly individual character, yet all give the impression of being cut from the same branch.
Terry Teachout
Wall Street Journal
January 16, 2009
Florida Rep's
Rabbit Hole
by David Lindsey-Abaire
Becca and Howie, Rachel Burttram and Christopher Swan never fall into the trap of either trumped-up tears and meaningfully gripped hands, or bland emotionlessness. Fire seethes just under their placid surfaces, leaping up past their defenses to ignite moments that almost, but never quite, connect them. The couple is handling their pain privately, separately, keeping the volcano of emotions they are both feeling carefully sealed under a desperately maintained veneer of stone-faced stoicism. They rarely touch. Eye contact is made only sporadically. Their exchanges are painfully polite, as if the merest moment of real connection between them will crumble the battlements that are allowing the two to function. And yet the silences between the gifted actors are as riveting — sometimes more so — as Lindsay-Abaire’s crisp, utterly real dialogue. Love pulses between them...
Tiffany Yates
Naples Daily News
January 12, 2007
NYC International Fringe
Young, Sexy & Talented
by Rich Cavan
The cast of nine each had moments to display his or her character's quirks and conflicts, but, in the end, the one singled out in the show is also the one who deserves the most attention outside of the play—actress Rachel Burttram. In the central role of the abused and neglected Sharon, Burttram was able to evoke audience empathy and turn things around with a sensitive, straightforward performance. No one wants to act opposite her, and her pretentious teacher (Robin Bloodworth) ignores her or, worse yet, forgets she is even there. Luckily, a former student who is now an agent (playwright Cavan) is sitting in the back and plucks Sharon out of obscurity after her showcase appearance.
Elias Stimac
Backstage
September 10, 2004
