Peyton Ashby (she/her)

Director, Dramaturg, Dancer

Safety Stew

peyton ashby · June 10, 2025 certified reviewer
This show is an absolute must see! Brenda brings to life an age-old tradition from classic performance art and blends it (pun intended) with a tale about her life that is so full of heart and emotion. A beautiful tale about processing your father's death... even when he hasn't been a very good person. ... full review

KITTENS

peyton ashby · June 10, 2025 certified reviewer
Sometimes all you want to do is feel pretty and feminine... but the world has a tough way of reminding us that we don't always get to do that unbothered. Kittens is a very smart musical about how three girls in the late 60s dealt with problems that haunt women even today still - and does so in a style that feel effortless and never heavy-handed. ... full review

All Cats go to Hell.

peyton ashby · June 10, 2025 certified reviewer
I've learned now that shows written by Mandy absolutely cannot be missed! A job well done to every single person involved this production, it was such a profoundly, beautifully sad yet funny look into that time when we were all finding out where being a kid ends and learning to deal with very real things.... full review

Antony Zioni - Tales of the Ancient East

peyton ashby · June 10, 2025 certified reviewer
Antony and his tremendous ability to tell a story captures the exact same energy of what mesmerized me about Vincent Price. Antony is equally mesmerizing in this tale full of incredible tech and production... that feels like all it needs a camera and it would be something to watch weekly. ... full review

Vote for Tom Ryan

peyton ashby · June 23, 2024 certified reviewer
Drew and Brandon are a creative team to watch in the years to come, being able to transform topics that most people avoid, like politics, into something that not a single audience member can deny relating to at some point in their life. 30 minutes seem to be just the right amount of content and information for the story to feel satisfying while also leaving us enthralled and ready for another 30 minutes if it was to exist. Drew's writing has a voice that doesn't have to work too hard to deliver i... full review

Baby Rock

peyton ashby · June 22, 2024 certified reviewer
We all need reminders that kids are just trying to be themselves the best ways they know how, and that most of the time they just want to play, explore and make friends. Everything about this show is so fun, playful and engaging that it's perfect for absolutely any age! The live band was spectacular and really created the perfect world to jam out to. ... full review

Lessons from Children's Books

peyton ashby · June 22, 2024 certified reviewer
You need to see this show. If you are reading this review right now, find a ticket first and then come back. This show was one of the best shows I have seen in a long time; finding the easiest way to blend very original humor with such genuine and vulnerable personal stories, all packaged in a school assembly I never wanted to end. Phillip impressed with fresh joke after joke, and keeps the audience guessing what's next with each time he invites us into his past with him. This was something that ... full review

Astro Cabaret

peyton ashby · June 22, 2024 certified reviewer
It's really tough to sell me on a one person show that is 60 or more minutes, let alone one that includes a whole slew of characters, but I was floating amongst the stars at Emma's show and truly left blown out of this world by her willingness to be vulnerable about what makes her who she is in a way we all can feel comfortable laughing and learning in or about. Emma has really found a mastery in the side of clowning of getting the audience to love the clown and what the clown is doing, letting ... full review

The Transpiring

peyton ashby · June 22, 2024 certified reviewer
What meets the eye as a fun, hip hop, fantastical musical is much more with deeper notes of a story about people wanting be accepting for who they are, no matter how many asterisks gets attached. As transgender woman myself, the storyline with the younger sister was particularly touching and left me wishing I had a sibling that - giving me a good reminder how much a story can impact someone else. ... full review

Ronald

peyton ashby · June 15, 2024 certified reviewer
The references to various franchise characters, the everyday average Joe success story as well as the reimagining of the Fall of Ronald McDonald all culminate into one of my favorite shows of this year. Ronald is has the time fly by as you get lost in the story Jenna has built, proving that Jenna Podell is an actress in comedy we all need to be aware of. ... full review

peyton ashby