New York Times Snapshot
Backstage Spotlight
"Mr. Best [...] is powerfully charming, an appealing mix of youthful braggadocio and sincere emotion. He makes the verse varied and accessible, offering lines like 'With love’s light wings did I o’erperch these walls' with prime teenage swagger."
"Sheldon Best shines as the tireless entrepreneur Franco, making the character his own."
"Best's winning performance as Franco, in combination with Hartman's impressive arc [...] give full expression to the tragic and comedic elements that define this well wrought drama"
"Sheldon Best does impressive work as Marcus, bringing a distinctive nuance to each of the character’s ages depicted in the play. He deftly conveys the adult Marcus’ self-confidence in such things as filial responsibility and sexual orientation[....]'
Best is even better as schoolboy Marcus, awkwardly visiting his grandfather in jail, or fretting over letting a girl borrow his prized possession — a 64-count box of Crayolas, “each strategically placed in its proper place according to color and personality.”
"Previous Vampire Cowboys collaborators Sheldon Best and Eugene Oh deliver the most consistently entertaining performances."
"Sheldon Best plays all of his characters bigger than life and yet he achieves an endearing authenticity when he reveals Toby, the real guy underneath the costumes."
"Mr. Best, a furiously kinetic actor, hurls himself at each line like it’s the latest enemy — an approach that works surprisingly well. If you need a thug shot, a vampire killed or a yeti tamed, he seems like the man to call. He also looks very cute holding a teddy bear. What range!"
"Gunslinger Mal (Sheldon Best, oozing star quality) teams up with saucy badass Jess (Jamie Dunn) to fight neckbiters."
--Time Out
"It is especially nice to watch Best and Hoche bringing life to the relationship at the show's heart."
"Finally, the five male actors--Sheldon Best, Leon Addison Brown, Jonathan-David, Mikeah Ernest Jennings, and Andrés Munar--are a tour de force in their own right, full of boundless energy and a deft portrayal of multiple and divergent characters, all with a visible urgency to tell the story."
"Both young male lovers – Ian Holcomb’s Demetrius and Sheldon Best’s Lysander – are adorable physical comics nicely differentiated in appearance and delivery but equally likable and appealing. "
"Meanwhile the star-crossed lovers fling themselves into boisterous physical comedy that requires some sure-footing onstage by male leads Best and Holcomb."
"In the irresistible final scene Mr. Best provides the kind of dramatic moment that has been missing. He gives us John Newton Templeton: a man who has become himself."
"But it is Best who really impresses, bringing all sorts of dimensions to a character who, in less capable hands, might seem a little flat."
--Politico
"Sheldon Best as Templeton gives as good as he gets. Best subtly charts the young man's journey from naiveté to self-actualization."
** AUDELCO Nomination **
Best Lead Actor
"Manipulated and voiced with élan by Sheldon Best, this gloriously nonsensical addition to the familiar film formula is the play's most inspired device."
"Best is hilarious as Edgar, manipulating the teddy bear puppet with skill and expressiveness."
"Sheldon Best deserves particular commendation for his outstanding work with David Valentine's impeccable puppets, making Edgar the Bear one of the show's highlights. He achieves that elusive alchemy of imbuing the character with a totally convincing vitality while never hiding—and at moments jokingly drawing attention to—his presence as puppeteer. "
"Sheldon Best and Jon Hoche, as various villains, lackeys, and saviors, are nothing short of astonishing in their versatility."
"Sheldon Best, who plays Boss 2K, among others, actually fooled me into thinking he was more than one person for the first half hour of the show."
"Sheldon Best is hilarious as Dewdrop's wise mentor Master Leroy Green and joltingly affecting as a nerdish loser named Marcus."
"Nowhere does this emanate more satisfyingly than from the six-pack gut of Best, a galvanizing merger of actor and role if there ever were one. His Leon is the play’s central figure, a young man of bountiful potential. [...] Best proves expert at embodying the character’s charm and immaturity."
"Best delivers the heavyweight performance here, both emotionally and physically (with a glistening layer of sweat to prove it). Leon’s evolution from obedient janitor to entitled champion builds in intense mid-bout monologues laced with just the right combination of youthful cockiness and fear."
"Sheldon Best and Natalie Paul portray the doomed lovers with urgency and attractiveness [...] and we understand precisely not only what everyone involved stands to lose in pursuing it but also the impetuous bravery of the lovers’ choices."
"Sheldon Best’s turn as Romeo is a delight to witness as he shows great range in his ability to teeter the spectrum of both great pleasure and pain. Best stole the heart of many in the audience, when he groaned from his inner being 'give me my sin again.'"
** AUDELCO Nomination **
Best Lead Actor
"As Colin, a 17-year-old prisoner with seemingly no cardiovascular limits, actor Sheldon Best spends much of the show either sprinting or jogging in place. Even when he’s not running, Colin fights, steals, argues, seduces — all with tremendous volume and verve."
"The very appealing Sheldon Best plays Colin and wins us over immediately with his rather reasonable, sensible approach to an aimless life. [...] He has very good chemistry with Jasmine Cephas Jones as the potential romantic interest Kenisha."
"Best is an inherently likable mensch. He uses his natural charisma to his advantage, melting our hearts with his wide smile while simultaneously devastating us with the realization that this character doesn't get to fulfill his dreams. [...] He also has a truly adorable chemistry with young Whitaker."
"Mr. Best, who played another young athlete in 'The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner,' is an especially kinetic actor. His Tray remains something of an emotional cipher, at least until the final scene, yet his body is expressive."
"Sheldon Best's cocky Romeo with a sensitive side is a fine match for Ayana Workman's sweet and playful Juliet."
** Winner **
Lincoln Center's Martin E. Segal Award