Les Miserables

Best of 2013, Times Union Newspaper, Albany NY

Best of 2013, DidYouWeekend.com

Dogs of War

November 20, 2013

Richard DiMaggio DidYouWeekend

Bunce takes his own notes and his own pen in hand and molds Shakespeare’s text to try and interpret Shakespeare’s obsession with war. Indeed, this work is the handshake between Bunce’s own obsession and that of Shakespeare’s. It is a colloquy of American history and Shakespeare, and the messages we are meant to learn from both of them.

November 15, 2013

Joseph Dalton Times Union

After experiencing “Dogs of War,” which opens Wednesday for a one-week run at the Theater Institute at Sage, audiences may have trouble deciding who’s more obsessed with war, the playwright William Shakespeare or the performer David Bunce. 

Black Tie

at the Adirondack Theatre Festival

Wednesday, June 27, 2012 by: Michael Eck 

It’s exciting to see David Bunce moving outside the confines of the former New York State Theatre Institute. As Curtis, he creates a genuine chemistry with Christopher, and visually they match as father and son. Bunce nicely — under Terry Rabine’s direction — portrays a middle-aged man trying to grapple with the long, loving shadow of his father.

Naftali Rottenstreich

David Bunce, as Curtis, movingly conveys a certain sense of vulnerability and insecurity in his roles as both son to his father and father to his son.

 

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf

Best of 2012 Bob Goepfert Troy Record

Best of 2012 Michael Eck Times Union

Times Union, November 2, 2012

Bunce, easily doing his best work ever, is remarkable as George, and Strimbeck is often genuinely fearsome as the cat in the corner Martha. They hurl insult after insult, while riding waves of emotion, Scotch and gin.

They make this the best “Woolf” I have seen (which is saying something, considering it’s my favorite play).

By Bob Goepfert
The Record

David Bunce, a mainstay at the former New York State Theatre Institute, plays George. He is nothing short of brilliant in a role he makes his own. George is such a complex character there can never be a definitive portrayal of the man, but I guarantee you will remember this performance.

Bunce inhabits the man to the degree that you always know what is going on inside his mind. This makes his always shifting mood and behavioral changes understandable. Bunce’s George is a rational man who seldom loses control of the situation. This makes his cruel behavior to those who threaten him seem almost logical and maybe even necessary.

Of Mice and Men

Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, November 2008

“Bunce and Romeo are excellent in the leads, and each creates a fully-rounded character.” “… a fact that makes the ending twice as tragic.”

NYSTI reveals new insights in a classic
By Michael Eck

David Bunce plays George with a weariness born of watching out for both himself and his friend. John Romeo plays Lennie, who likes to pet soft things, with a child’s sense of wonder and play that hides the power beneath.

There’s almost a hint of “Frankenstein” in this production. That may seem a leap, but Bunce’s George has an aspect of the enabler/destroyer that plays out in the story’s famous final scene.

Suffice to say the lead roles are well-rendered and appropriately anchored.

Twelve Angry Jurors

Reviewed by Gail M. Burns, October 2008

Bunce and Joel Aroeste make powerful antagonists cast as the jurors most convinced that there is, and isn’t, reasonable doubt. Bunce plays it cool but confrontational while Aroeste is all noise and bluster.

Reviewed by J. Peter Bergman

Berkshire Bright Focus

David Bunce is the ideal # 8. He is slender, feels vulnerable, seems awkward in his need for discussion and investigation into the facts. When he reveals the first surprise in the show, his character suddenly becomes as formidable as that of his rival in the room. From that point onward Bunce lets his character’s strengths and convictions grow exponentially with each question, each gesture of doubt and proofs. Here is an actor at the top of his game in a role that gives him free reign to expand and grow before our very eyes. It becomes easy to understand why Henry Fonda wanted to play this part as we watch Bunce perform it.