Role: Nina Rosario

Company: Woodminster Theatre

Director: Joel Schlader

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Nina is played by Katherine De la Cruz whose clear soprano embraces a sweet vulnerability in her introductory song "Breathe," which she sings to help her gain the courage to tell her parents why she's home

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—LINDA HODGES, BROADWAY WORLD

Role: Maria

Company: City Lights Theatre

Director: Lisa Mallette

 

Dela Cruz delightfully plays Maria as both feisty and romantic, and her impressive, almost operatic delivery takes over almost every number she’s in.

 

—RANDY MCMULLEN, MERCURY NEWS

Role: Mary Magdalene

Company: Stage 1

Director: Matty Gregg

 

The three leads are Nikita Burshteyn (Judas), Brian Palac (Jesus) and Katherine Dela Cruz (Mary Magdelene). Each gives a masterful performance, owning the stage during their numbers without dominating in a distracting manner. While the songs “I Don’t Know How To Love Him” and “Everything's Alright” usually provide the best vehicle for a Mary Magdalene showcase, Dela Cruz takes “Could We Start Again Please?” to a new level. She enhances a musical performance with solid acting to bring the audience with her on this gut-wrenching dilemma.

 

—KEL KANADY,  MONTEREY HERALD

Role: Kim

Company: Palo Alto Players

Director: Patrick Klein

 

Dela Cruz's Kim is powerful and nuanced.

 

—SEAN CONWELL, METRO ACTIVE

Role: Ariel

Company: Tri Valley Repertory

Director: Brian Olkowski

 

At the heart of it all are the stellar performances. Katherine Dela Cruz as Ariel is both enchanting and lovable, with a voice that sends tingles down the spine.

 

—CAROL GRAHAM, INDEPENDENT NEWS

Role: Maria

Company: City Lights Theatre

Director: Lisa Malette

 

What makes this West Side Story particularly noteworthy is above all the casting of Katherine Dela Cruz as Maria, who alone is worth the price of the ticket. Each time she sings one of the iconic songs, her lyrical, strong, clear, at times almost operatic voice lifts the well known to new interpretations and dimensions. The higher she goes in musical scale, in both incredibly soft or equally astounding fortissimo tones, the better she is. Coupled with a personality that can be pixy and prissy in "I Feel Pretty," gaspingly astonished at her new love in "Tonight," and hauntingly persuasive in "I Have a Love," Ms. Dela Cruz is a Maria who can proudly place herself in a long line of memorable Marias from stages of the past.

 

—EDDIE REYNOLDS, TALKIN’ BROADWAY

Role: Kim

Company: Palo Alto Players

Director: Patrick Klein

 

Katherine Dela Cruz shines as Kim.  Kim is a woman holding on to a dream that is no longer a reality, dreaming of a better life for her son and longing for the love, the husband, she lost during the war.  Dela Cruz portrays the role with such seamless ease and emotion, you find yourself in the audience sharing her loss and heartache.

 

—COLBY STEELE, COLBY THEATRE GROUPS

Role: Kim

Company: Palo Alto Players

Director: Patrick Klein

 

Dela Cruz as Kim is also very strong.  She displays the right blend of emotion, and her final scene is gripping as some sniffles were heard on opening night when she met her tragic fate.

 

—ANDE JACOBSON, A GOOD REED REVIEW