“Francesca Casale is rapturous as Bessie, delivering a sensitive performance, especially in the second act when Bessie faces the finality of her condition; Casale credibly exposes Bessie’s innate goodness, occasionally with a bit of an edge that enhances her humanity.”

— Stage and Cinema – Tony Frankel - Highly Recommended

“Casale, remarkable as always, radiates saintly goodness and near superhuman strength when strength is what’s needed.”

— Stage Scene LA – Steven Stanley - Highly Recommended

“O’Leary has the good fortune to be working with an excellent cast who know how to wring a tear or a smile – or both at the same time – from others. Kudos to Tara Battani and Francesca Casale as the sisters in the silent duel.”

— LA Splash – Elaine Mura - Highly Recommended

“The venerable Actors Co-op Theatre Company offered me the chance to review their new production of Marvin’s Room, that was shelved two years ago. And what a joy it is! The play is set in Florida where Bessie (Francesca Casale in a deeply heartfelt performance)”… 

— Theatre Notes – Paul Myrvoid - Highly Recommended

“Each actor’s performance is fleshed out with clear intent.  As Kate, Casale’s denial of her son’s death follows her throughout the entire show, with her emotions continuously running overboard.”

—Stage Raw Top Ten - Julyza Commodor

“A brilliant… must-see production...The four leading actors portray each character with vivid intensity and virtuoso skill.”

—SPLASH MAGAZINE - ELAINE MURA

“This is a talented cast and what they do best is emotion…true, real, heart-pounding emotion. Specifically…Casale's gut-wrenching bellow of pain and sorrow at the end of the play that came from the pit of her stomach and echoed throughout the small space of the theatre.”   

—BWW - Jeffrey Scott

“In an impressive performance, Francesca Casale breaks our hearts as the mother who wants her son back.”

—Hollywood Revealed - Peter Foldy

“The ensemble saves and elevates the event, particularly.... Francesca Casale as the women whose heart becomes wrenched by the musician in the house.”

— LA Weekly GO - Steven Leigh Morris

“The ever splendid Francesca Casale creates two very different portraits, her imperious nurse a dramatic contrast to the spacey Christ-obsessed Vee.”

— StageSceneLA WOW - Steven Stanley

“A regular chameleon, Francesca Casale expertly plays dual roles as Vee Talbot, an occasionally blinded abstract artist of all things Christian and the prim, steely-hearted Nurse Porter with razor-sharp specificity.”

— EyeSpyLA - M.R. Hunter

"Orpheus" descends into riveting realms entirely its own. The estimable ensemble, many playing multiple roles, includes ever-reliable Francesca Casale as the sheriff's visionary wife.”

— LA Times Critic’s Pick - David C. Nichols

“..and Francesca Casale give perhaps the most adept performances of the show. Poignant and funny, they remind us of why character actresses are so crucial to a show and adept at what they do.”

— Broadway World - Amber Cassell

 “It is not always easy, in a Williams play, to reconcile the ugliness of the world, often seen as grotesque and bordering on the farcical, with the tragic fate of his central characters…The one exception is Francesca Casale who brings real depth to a variety of characters, especially as an artist whose revelations are causing her increasing blindness, and as a nurse who may seem insensitive but who sees clearly what is going on around her.”

— Stage and Cinema - Harvey Perr

“Under the tender hand of Larry Moss…we sit transfixed, transported to the excruciatingly painful life of young Johnny, Shanley’s alter ego. It’s tough to get the tone of this play just right. By the end here, it’s so right we’re left shattered by the imagery, in awe of the artistry.” “Johnny begs his mother to tell him she loves him, she replies, "It wouldn't sound believable." At that second, playing Ma, Francesca Casale flattens our hearts.”

— Backstage Critic’s Pick - Dany Margolies

“This first rate production scores on all counts… Powerful, passionate… outstanding acting… excellent cast…humor and searing insight… imaginative”“Casale Inject’s Drama And Destruction Into Every Situation.”

— Tolucan Times - Mary Mallory

“When theatre is good, it knocks your socks off, breaks your heart, and makes you forget about all those other shows that just didn’t measure up. … Shanley’s Beggars in the House of Plenty is a masterpiece…the casting was uncannily perfect…”“Francesca Casale was terrific as the mother; simple... obnoxious, Irritating, but somehow likeable.” 

— Stage Happenings - Eve Meadows

“Francesca Casale plays Ma with a ferocious determination to Ignore and deny the pain swirling around her in the family.  “… she is, perhaps, the most real person there is and it is hard to keep your eyes off her.”

— LA Theatre - Geoff Hoff

“A Nervous Smile, is the white knuckle, fist-clenching, aesthetic equivalent of road/roid rage, one of those performances so transparent, so well staged, directed, and acted that it make you forget this is something enacted on a stage and not splayed out in your community.  The acting was raw and raspy-voiced.  Sore throat naked.”

— James Scarborough

“A Vicodin addict and alcoholic… whose marriage Is on the rocks Casale’s Eileen returns home giggling and tipsy accompanied by her would-be novelist husband and former best friend…their repartee, laced with repressed sexuality and muted hostility, contains echoes Of Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?...  The cast turn in chiseled performances.”

— LA Weekly Pick - Steven Leigh Morris

“Casale’s Eileen initially seems the least likable; garrulous and self-important…but Eileen’s actions gradually reveal a surprisingly different person – more generous, less flippant and cynical. Casale shapes an impressive arc.”        

— Variety - Paul Hodgins

‘A Nervous Smile’ cuts to the bone…Casale brings a pronounced New York City dialect and a sloppy, comfortable quality to the tough, crude, bluntly funny Eileen…”    

 — The OCR - Eric Marchese

Dark-Edged Comedy, Capitalism in ‘Money’

“In the Colony Studio Theatre’s gripping production of Other People’s Money, Francesca Casale gives a riveting performance as a big-time lawyer, Kate… Casale blazes as a smart lawyer who matches wits and comebacks….”   

— LA Times - Jana J. Monji

“Francesca Casale is terrific as Kate, funny and brassy and ballsy and crystal clear.”

— Glendale Gazette - Jennie Webb

“Casale is Exemplary as a proud accomplished woman forced to examine her own sense of morality.”

— LA Weekly - Terry Morgan

“One of her daughters matures into a world-class emotional castration expert…Francesca Casale particularly stands out as she transforms from nice Jewish girl Into she bitch extraordinaire.”

— LA Times - Laurie Winer

“Casale travels Sadie’s emotional transition from shy sister to nearly relentless witch wife with confidence.”

— Backstage - Terri Roberts

“...an incomparable cast brings out every ounce of warmth, wit, ethnic flavor and poignancy in this richly textured work. Especially effective are Casale’s complex portrait of the initially unconfident but ultimately ruthless Sadie.”

— Frontiers - L.S.

“Francesca Casale as a single mother raising a developmentally disabled son illuminates enduring human truths about the hidden pitfalls of self-sacrifice”

— LA Times - Philip Brandes

“Casale embodies Sally’s self-deprecating, worst-foot-forward wit.”

— LA Weekly - Neal Weaver

Gripping ‘David’s Mother’ Is Fresh Look at Self-Sacrifice

“A single mother raising a developmentally disabled son pays a heavy price for her devotion in “David’s Mother,” Bob Randall’s unsentimental look at the dark side of self-sacrifice. A powerful revival at the Colony Studio Theatre honors the unsettling truths and refusal to settle for emotional cliches, keeping the play fresh and topical.”

“As the fiercely protective Sally, Francesca Casale turns in a multifaceted gem of a performance--smart, caustic and blunt in the finest tradition of New Yorkers”.

“In deftly executed shifts between past and present, co-directors Tom Knickerbocker and Michael David Wadler peel away Sally’s layers of self-protective insulation, forcing her to the painful recognition that her “nurturing” is smothering any chance for David’s growth. Posing a dilemma refreshingly free of hissy villains and unrealistic heroics, “David’s Mother” finds compelling drama in the unglamorous challenges of real life.”

— LA Times - Philip Brandes

In my craft or sullen art
Exercised in the still night
When only the moon rages
And the lovers lie abed
With all their griefs in their arms
I labor by singing light
Not for ambition or bread
Or the strut or trade of charms

On the ivory stages
But for the common wages
Of their most secret heart

Not for the proud man apart
From the raging moon I write
On these spindrift pages
Nor for the towering dead

With their nightingales and psalms
But for the lovers, their arms
Round the griefs of the ages,
Who pay no praise or wages
Nor heed my craft or art

— Dylan Thomas (via J. Elroy)