On Golden Pond
"Director Michael Serrecchia has assembled a very talented crew of designers to support his talented cast. Scenic Designer/Set Dresser Joseph Cummings and Master Carpenter Ellie Wyatt have created the cozy summer cottage we all would like to find on rental sites. Nestled among trees that swayed, the sweet cottage faced the lake. This smart choice let the audience be part of saying hello and goodbye to the loons."
Glynda Welch, Dallas Theatre Journal
The Light in the Piazza
"With soft lighting by Mia Lindemann and its versatile set by Joseph Cumming with Florence always in the background, the show created a dreamy view of Italy that worked with the show’s romance and music led by Vicky Nooe."
"MainStage knows how to transport audiences to another place and time as they have done recently with Enchanted April and Intimate Apparel. They do that again here with distinct allure."
Rich Lopez, Dallas Voice
Intimate Apparel
"Multi-level scenic design by Ellen Doyle Mizener with set dressing by Joseph Cummings and richly detailed costumes by Michael A. Robinson, along with the splendidly intermittent rear wall projections, take the audience into a believable and intriguing 1905 reality."
Alexandra Bonifield, Critical Rant & Rave
Gypsy
"Time and space prevent me from giving everyone in this cast of 25 and the amazing design team the recognition they deserve."
"Michael Serrecchia and his team made this Gypsy unforgettable entertainment. This show may be 63 years old, but in the hands of his team and cast it shines like a newly minted silver dollar."
Doug Sturdivant, DFW Center Stage
The Red Pashmina
"The Red Pashmina turns primarily, gloriously on spectacle, awash in dazzling colors, meticulous choreography, elaborate, evocative scenery and gorgeous music that transports us to otherworldly, astonishing realms."
Christoper Soden, Sharp Critic
"This production involved movable set pieces that put us into the journey through time. We visited a fishing village, a palace, a desert caravan, an officer’s club, a dungeon, and an ancient temple. Scenic Designer Joseph Cummings and Video Designer Vijay Gurow provided plenty of visual scenes, albeit leaving most of the huge stage empty for dances. These settings were colorful and carried us deeper into the Indian culture at every turn."
"Sets were brilliantly lit by Kyle Harris who married the movable set pieces with Vijay Gurow's projections to enhance the already-brilliant colors in the sets and costumes."
"But the spectacle fills Irving's Carpenter Hall with movement and color that kept the eyes focused for the whole two hours."
"Make the trip to Irving for this grand experience."
Charlie Bowles, The Column Online By John Garcia
The Full Monty
"The Full Monty is one of my favorite shows, and the first show I ever saw on Broadway with the original cast. This was the first production of this show I’ve seen since then, and I can say it was just as good as what I saw on Broadway. The cast looked like they were having a blast and the audience loved it even more."
JOEL GERARD (Associate Theatre Critic)
"....you should definitely come out for a chance at seeing ALL the goods!"
Christina Hoth, broadwayworld.com
Phantom
"Scenes of the exterior and interior of the Opera House, the Phantom’s cave, the tunnels and waterways in the catacombs, multiple moving images on the same surface, projections that enveloped the stage to make it look larger - all of these tricks set the atmosphere for each scene and allowed us to instinctively identify with a location. Images started small and grew to fill the space, making the stage area pulsate with the action and the music. All of this was coordinated with Nance’s lighting in a kind of dance. As a techie at heart, the whole process fascinated me."
"MainStage Irving-Los Colinas’ Phantom is tremendous entertainment."
Charlie Bowles, Associate Critic for John Garcia's THE COLUMN
"Welcome to the future of 21st century of scenic design."
Alexandra Bonifield, Critical Rant & Rave
"...the production uses projections brilliantly."
Punch Shaw, dfw.com
Legally Blonde
"The set, designed by Joseph Cummings, flows as swiftly as the cast moves from one scene to the next. Following after the Broadway production’s original set design by David Rockwell, Cummings incorporates the sorority house staircase for the opening number. He then downsizes, using dual-purpose set pieces that rotate to create multiple locations such as the salon, Elle’s dorm room and the Harvard exterior. Connie Hay’s property design elevates Cummings’ ability to create additional locations. Using stand-alone props that are easily wheeled on and off by the actors, the department store, courthouse, and even a bathroom all come to life on stage."
Bonnie K. Daman, Associate Critic for John Garcia's THE COLUMN
Monty Python's Spamalot
"Scenic Designer Joseph Cummings worked his magic in this small venue to recreate the feast hall of Camelot, a daunting (and taunting) French castle, a magical lake, a plague-infested middle-age slum, and a very, ahem, expensive forest. Using solid design in limited space along with the power of suggestion was greatly aided with excellent lighting design by Ken Davis. Another element of surprise was several magical projected visual effects by projection designer Nate Davis. These designers created convincing scenes that augmented and never distracted from the action on the stage. This is a challenging goal for any production, and all the more when you are competing for precious proscenium space with a large ensemble cast in a small venue! To sum up, this is a production worth seeing and a must see for sure. From the attention to the smallest detail on the props designed by Connie Mauree Hay, to the quartet of designers: Glenn’s costume design, to the quality of the set design of Joseph Cummings, Ken Davis's lighting design and Nate Davis's projection design, this company embraced excellence. All helmed and tied together with White’s creative direction."
Sten-Eric Armitage, The Column
"The use of props and set design are also instrumental in Spamalot."
Tiney Ricciardi, Pegasus News
Hamlet
"Joseph Cummings’ simple, powerful set design centers on two rectangular, raked, interconnecting platform elements that actors re-arrange for different effect, scene by scene, and is flanked by sharp-edged vertical flats in monochrome hue. Together they reinforce the production’s somber atmosphere and the play’s themes. Severe but dreamlike, the overall visual concept emphasizes the play’s underlying savagery and haunting mental anguish. Upstage, projected slides rotate slowly behind the action, never distracting in any way, featuring classic artwork depicting scenes from varied “Hamlets”: by Delacroix, Fuseli, Wills, Millais and Cabanel. Cummings’ set design with slide projection, in balance with the haunting music score and shadow-enriched mood lighting (Cheney Coles and Chris Rapp) is one of the most effective, fully integrated set concepts I’ve witnessed in the region. And on a tight budget. I would be remiss if I failed to salute the dedication of work and time expended by construction “crew” Ben Bryant and Jacob Harris. It’s a defining moment, where set, lighting, costume, and both actors’ performances conspire to enliven the text in every horrifying, intended aspect."
Alexandra Bonifield, Critical Rant & Rave
"Costumed simply in shades of creams, reds and black, with sleek modular scenery by professional designer Joseph Cummings...., this Hamlet surges with energy."
Elaine Liner, Dalla Observer
Daffodil Girls
"Within a splendidly detailed tree house set by Joseph Cummings."
Lindsey Wilson, D Front Row
"Watch a pre-teen deliver a slightly more age-appropriate version of the “coffee’s for closers” speech and then try to tell me Jeff Swearingen isn’t a genius. Adapting Mamet’s tense, foul-mouthed real estate play for adorable girls selling cookies is a nice hook, but pulling it off with a remarkably talented young cast and a thoughtful set design is definitely something to be praised for."
Lindsey Wilson, D Front Row
"Rapp and Swearingen showed off some serious growth by pulling the concept and the script off, aided well by set designer Joseph Cummings and master carpenter Ben Bryant."
Kris Noteboom, Theatre Jones
"The set design by Joseph Cummings is so good it made me want a tree house like that of my very own. Outside of the tree house is the local watering hole. In this case it is the local lemonade stand, staffed by the young girls that serve the patrons their drinks. The lemonade stand looks like what you would picture any neighborhood lemonade stand to be. Camouflage -type netting hangs over the down stage right area. The genius of this set design, though, is what is inside the tree house. Picture in your mind the board room or conference room of a high-powered company, in which the over-stressed sales personnel meet to make deals and brag about the deals they have made. Now, replace that vision with a room that includes slogans on the walls, reminding you of less polished versions of motivational sayings in any sales conference room, wall color choices that blend young innocence with the corporate world, and the ironic touch of using stacks of cookie boxes for the desks and furniture."
Joel Taylor, The Column
Pillow Talk
"Joseph Cummings built a beautiful, detailed set that consisted of a feminine, colorful apartment for Jan Morrow, and a more angular, monochromatic apartment for Brad Allen. Both suites were lovely..."
Ashlea Palladino, Pegasus News & The Column
"Cummings' set is a two-level gem, with Jan's apartment looking appropriately 1950s mow-DURN. (Think Fort Worth's Ridglea Country Club.) There's even a huge oil painting of a flower..." It's relentlessly silly. Yet there's an unforced sweetness about it that director Evelyn Davis exploits with alternating subtlety and panache. Clearly, Davis views this story through the same lens as scenic designer Joseph Cummings: '50s camp."
Perry Stewart, Theatre Jones
The Jungle Book
"Two dedicated professionals give the play its look. They are Joseph Cummings, set designer, and Deborah Gerard, who creates the costumes."
Deborah Fleck, Dallas Morning News
Greater Tuna
"The set is cleverly designed to allow easy entrances and exits from multiple points spread evenly across the space..."
Richard Goulde, Pegasus News & John Garcia's The Column
To Kill a Mockingbird
"To start, I was immediately impressed by the work done by Joseph Cummings and Donna Covington in their creation of a simple yet compelling set. They created the perfect small town street for us to watch events unfold. Their cleverness in creating a moving set piece that rotated and transformed our neighborhood of patios and porches into a court of law was impressive, to say the least. Well done!"
Sten-Erik Armitage, John Garcia's The Column
The Chicken Who Wasn't Chicken
"Performed against omelet-yellow scenery designed by Joseph Cummings..."
Elaine Liner, Dallas Observer
"The minimalist, egg yolk yellow set by regional professional designer Joseph Cummings, a series of rolling upstage flats in wildly “random” geometric shapes, enhances Mike Chicken’s fantasy world and allows for rapid scene changes, no muss, no fuss."
Alexandra Bonifield, Critical Rant & Rave
The Butler Did It
"Joseph Cummings' set design was excellent. It felt like I could have been looking into a finely apportioned manor sitting room. He paid attention to detail, from the pictures hanging on the walls... to the lion statuettes marking the corners of the room, to the little figurines placed in various locations throughout. Plus, his use of reds and golds added elegance to the setting. Add a fine staircase and the hidden passageway and this was a visually engaging set."
Matt Gunther, John Garcia's The Column
Dracula, A Haunted Tale of Dating
"Joseph Cummings’ romantic, period-hinting set reflects an earthy, storybook-like charm and provides imaginative backdrop for the simple proscenium space."
Alexandra Bonifield, Critical Rant & Rave
Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
"The costuming was especially brilliant when viewed against the completely anachronistic set (floor-mounted cutouts of Nefertiti serving as backdrops for costumes with wide-legged pants and even wider collars), designed by Joseph Cummings and built by Master Carpenter James Cox. Having before seen sets designed by Mr. Cummings, I was not at all surprised by the intricacy of his design for Joseph. The use of color was paramount to the design of this set, and also to the lighting, designed by Catherine Montgomery and executed by KC Jansson. The curtain backdrop was designed and painted by Mr. Cummings and sewn by Deborah Gerard to mirror the design of Joseph's coat, a rather simple idea that beautifully tied the set together."
Ashlea Palladino, John Garcia's The Column
