The River Bride (American Players Theatre, 2022)
"'Sisters Helena (Melisa Pereyra) and Belmira (Gabriela Castillo) welcome the rain in "The River Bride" at American Players Theatre. Sound designer Brandon Reed fills the Touchstone Theatre with the sounds of constantly moving water and sudden storms.."
"To that end, scenic designer Regina Garcia drapes the stage with vines. Above a wooden pier, Garcia fills the playing space with a misty haze, like steam rising from the river below. Sound designer Brandon Reed creates a 360-degree soundscape of thunder, moving water and chimes that, paired with Jesse Klug’s vivid, golden light, can stop time".
Lindsay Christians - The Cap Times
"To that end, scenic designer Regina Garcia drapes the stage with vines. Above a wooden pier, Garcia fills the playing space with a misty haze, like steam rising from the river below. Sound designer Brandon Reed creates a 360-degree soundscape of thunder, moving water and chimes that, paired with Jesse Klug’s vivid, golden light, can stop time".
Lindsay Christians - The Cap Times
A Christmas Carol: An Audio Drama (PlayMakers Repertory Company, 2020)
"'Dooley's vocal work is supplemented by sound effects, put together by Brandon Reed. They are used sparingly enough to not become distracting, while taking it a step above a normal audiobook. It's a very easy and engaging way to take in the classic tale, perfect for people who are familiar with it or for those experiencing Dickens's work for the first time."
Nicole Ackman - Broadway World
Nicole Ackman - Broadway World
BEAU (Adirondack Theatre Festival, 2019)
"'Beau' benefits greatly from lighting design by Howell Binkley and Siobhan Sleath and sound by Brandon Wayne Reed."
Steve Barnes - Times Union
Steve Barnes - Times Union
Sequence (Adirondack Theatre Festival, 2019)
"With a stunningly stark and often ominous sound track by Brandon Reed, there is the drip, drip of water, no actually, it's a thud, thud, a heart beat, perhaps. The sounds, perfectly timed with dramatic lighting by Chelsie McPhilimy, signal impending doom."
Kathleen Phalen-Tomaselli - The Post Star
Kathleen Phalen-Tomaselli - The Post Star
The Enlightenment of Percival von Schmootz (Adirondack Theatre Festival, 2019)
"The band under Matt Deitchman’s direction sounded great....First rate work by costumer Johana Pan and sound designer Brandon Reed as well"
Patrick White - Nippertown
Patrick White - Nippertown
Noises Off (Windy City Playhouse, 2019)
"...and outstanding sound design by Brandon Reed creates the illusion that we are really with them as an act plays before an invisible "audience."
Karen Topham - Chicago On Stage
"The technical side of the show is sheer perfection. It has to be to work. Hats off to Max Fabian for the fight choreography, Casey Wood (costume co-ordinate and Jessica Kuehnau for her design), Andrew Hatcher (props that are amazingly assembled), Mike Durst (lighting) and Brandon Reed (sound). They took this massive show to a new level in making it truly work in a storefront, black box, theater."
Alan Bresloff - Around The Town Chicago
"The design team consists of Jeffrey D. Kmiec (scenery), Jessica Kuehnau (costumes), Mike Durst (lighting), and Brandon Reed (sound). Their combined efforts have produced a triumph of comic sight and sound to assist the characters through their increasingly precarious path to the show's final comic apocalyptic ending."
Dan Zeff - Chicagoland Theater Reviews
Karen Topham - Chicago On Stage
"The technical side of the show is sheer perfection. It has to be to work. Hats off to Max Fabian for the fight choreography, Casey Wood (costume co-ordinate and Jessica Kuehnau for her design), Andrew Hatcher (props that are amazingly assembled), Mike Durst (lighting) and Brandon Reed (sound). They took this massive show to a new level in making it truly work in a storefront, black box, theater."
Alan Bresloff - Around The Town Chicago
"The design team consists of Jeffrey D. Kmiec (scenery), Jessica Kuehnau (costumes), Mike Durst (lighting), and Brandon Reed (sound). Their combined efforts have produced a triumph of comic sight and sound to assist the characters through their increasingly precarious path to the show's final comic apocalyptic ending."
Dan Zeff - Chicagoland Theater Reviews
Yippee Ki-Yay Merry Christmas (Yippee Productions, 2018)
"Scenic designer Eric Luchen, Lighting Designer Lindsey Lyddan, and Sound Designer Brandon Reed come together to help take the action to over-the-top 80s level."
Ian Rigg - Chicagoland Musical Theatre
Ian Rigg - Chicagoland Musical Theatre
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (Cardinal Stage Company, 2018)
"Sound Design, by Brandon Reed was a highlight, and we heard birds, music, crowd fights, and roars in just the right places. Reed helped plant us in Narnia."
Connie Shadkalis - Herald-Times
"Brandon Reed's sound design from the bird that leads the children, to the whip cracks for the witch, and the lion's roar of Aslan were all neatly coordinated and added much."
George Walker - Indiana Public Media
Connie Shadkalis - Herald-Times
"Brandon Reed's sound design from the bird that leads the children, to the whip cracks for the witch, and the lion's roar of Aslan were all neatly coordinated and added much."
George Walker - Indiana Public Media
Haymarket (Underscore Theatre Company, 2018)
"But when you add a theatrically potent environment from the design team of Eric Luchen, Christina Leinicke, Erik Barry, and Brandon Reed, this really is a heck of an achievement. Many of the songs are quite beautiful; so is the commitment. You don't have to be a kid to be moved to tears."
Chris Jones - Chicago Tribune
"Erik Barry’s lights set perfect tones for the proceedings, and (together with the actors’ instruments and Brandon Reed’s sound design) make explosions like you’ve never seen and heard before."
Karen Topham - Chicago On Stage.com
Chris Jones - Chicago Tribune
"Erik Barry’s lights set perfect tones for the proceedings, and (together with the actors’ instruments and Brandon Reed’s sound design) make explosions like you’ve never seen and heard before."
Karen Topham - Chicago On Stage.com
Sex With Strangers (Cardinal Stage Company, 2018)
"Brandon Reed's sound design gives us hooting night birds, western winds, and fiery scene-change music."
Connie Shakalis - Herald-Times
Connie Shakalis - Herald-Times
Jitney (Congo Square Theatre Company, 2018)
"The play opens with great background jazz and also in between each scene; Coltrane and other greats add much to the atmosphere of the play."
"The play is so realistic you could swear the characters walked right from the streets onto the stage!.”
"Outstanding acting by all, great staging, terrific jazz tracks and intimate theater setting, make for a wonderful experience!"
Maja Rios - Unrated Magazine
"The play is so realistic you could swear the characters walked right from the streets onto the stage!.”
"Outstanding acting by all, great staging, terrific jazz tracks and intimate theater setting, make for a wonderful experience!"
Maja Rios - Unrated Magazine
Title and Deed (The Station Theatre, 2017)
"The character seems to exist outside of time and space, but subtle hints from the script created a scenario in my mind, with a little help from a deceptively simple sound design. As the monologue proceeds, the soundscape punctuates his words so naturally that I was very nearly tricked into believing they were real. Although there’s no way I’d be hearing airport noises unless they were part of sound designer Brandon Reed’s intent, the hinted thunder and ambulance effects were done in such a manner that I momentarily thought, “Wow, what a coincidence that we’re having a storm while he’s talking about… oh.”
Rebecca Knaur - Smily Politely
Rebecca Knaur - Smily Politely
Three Hotels (Bluebird Arts, 2016)
"Directed by Luda Lopatina Solomon, this Bluebird Arts production features imaginative multimedia visual and sound design, and actors Dave Belden and Jaimelyn Gray bring fierce conviction to their storytelling."
Albert Williams - Chicago Reader
Albert Williams - Chicago Reader
A Small Oak Tree Runs Red (Congo Square Theatre, 2016)
"And whether singing or praying (and Brandon Reed’s sound design draws on all the proper anthems), Addison brings a luminous beauty and heat to her portrayal."
Hedy Weiss - Chicago Sun-Times
"As gruesome as the news reports Dalcoe includes are, the demonic influence represented by the design team is almost worse. Sound designer Brandon Reed has supplied the horrific jeers of the mob, which still torment the characters, and ratchet up in volume and viciousness when they violate the purgatory’s rules."
Jacob Davis - Chicago Critic
"Portraying a purgatory-esque world (Richard Norwood’s lighting and Brandon Reed’s sound design are integral elements), the play follows the three leads as they slowly come to grips with the cause of their death and the wider implications of America’s racial caste system."
Peter Thomas Ricci - Chicago Theatre Review
Hedy Weiss - Chicago Sun-Times
"As gruesome as the news reports Dalcoe includes are, the demonic influence represented by the design team is almost worse. Sound designer Brandon Reed has supplied the horrific jeers of the mob, which still torment the characters, and ratchet up in volume and viciousness when they violate the purgatory’s rules."
Jacob Davis - Chicago Critic
"Portraying a purgatory-esque world (Richard Norwood’s lighting and Brandon Reed’s sound design are integral elements), the play follows the three leads as they slowly come to grips with the cause of their death and the wider implications of America’s racial caste system."
Peter Thomas Ricci - Chicago Theatre Review
In The Time Of The Butterflies (Teatro Vista, 2016)
"The stage adaptation of Julia Álvarez’s acclaimed 1994 novel contrasts a bloody tale of revolution in mid-20th century Dominican Republic with twirling floral skirts and a sun-soaked garden setting; scenes of torture and sexual abuse with scenes of daydream-filled diary entries; and the sounds of a country under siege with chirping songbirds and smooth merengue on the radio"
Gwen Purdom - Time Out Chicago
"Svich's imagistic dialogue highlights the heightened nature of treacherous times, but sound designer Brandon Reed and composer Gabe Ruiz's music buoys the character's spirits, while also invoking the ghosts that haunt Dede later in life."
Sarah Bowden - Theatre by Numbers
"Sound Designer Brandon Reed creates a jump-out-of-my-seat war zone. The ongoing explosions are a little to real. (sic)"
Katy Walsh - The Fourth Walsh
"Kudos also go to the wonderful sound design, (Brandon Reed) at turns filling the theater with original music and choreography, (Gabe Ruiz and Tommy Rivera-Vega) haunting us with the twitter of birds, and frightening us with the sounds of torture. (sic)"
Debra Davy - Splash Magazines
Gwen Purdom - Time Out Chicago
"Svich's imagistic dialogue highlights the heightened nature of treacherous times, but sound designer Brandon Reed and composer Gabe Ruiz's music buoys the character's spirits, while also invoking the ghosts that haunt Dede later in life."
Sarah Bowden - Theatre by Numbers
"Sound Designer Brandon Reed creates a jump-out-of-my-seat war zone. The ongoing explosions are a little to real. (sic)"
Katy Walsh - The Fourth Walsh
"Kudos also go to the wonderful sound design, (Brandon Reed) at turns filling the theater with original music and choreography, (Gabe Ruiz and Tommy Rivera-Vega) haunting us with the twitter of birds, and frightening us with the sounds of torture. (sic)"
Debra Davy - Splash Magazines
Adding Machine: A Musical (The Hypocrites, 2016)
"Lauren Nigri's brick-walled set suggests purgatory on Earth, with a whimsical paradise island unfolding at a crucial moment. Mike Durst's lighting, Izumi Inaba's costumes and the sound design of Joe Court and Brandon Reed also are exemplary."
Hedy Weiss - Chicago Sun-Times
"Mike Durst's lighting design was exquisite, Lauren Nigri's scenic design was inventive, and the sound design of Joe Court and Brandon Reed with musical direction by Matt Deitchman gave this intricate score the support it needed."
Jerald Raymond Pierce - Chicago Stage Standard
"The stark and smart scenic design of Lauren Nigri, the bleak and occasionally kaleidoscope lighting design of Mike Durst, the unique uniforms of costume designer Izumi Inaba, the properties collection culled by Eleanor Kahn, the booming sound design of Joe Court and Brandon Reed and the incredible invention helmed by technical director Jacob Palmer, all work in tandem to illustrate an insidious, industrial world."
Ian Rigg - Chicagolandmusicaltheatre.com
"Mike Durst's moody illumination, Joe Court and Brandon Reed's fresh sound design and Izumi Inaba's expressive costumes all give additional depth to this production."
Colin Douglas - Chicago Theatre Review
"Important in a space such as The Den's Heath, each singer's vocals are well-supported by sound design by Joe Court and Brandon Reed, with some particularly gut-wrenching sound cues at the end of the piece that leave the right balance of cause and effect up to the audience's imaginations."
Brent Eickhoff - Third Coast Review
Hedy Weiss - Chicago Sun-Times
"Mike Durst's lighting design was exquisite, Lauren Nigri's scenic design was inventive, and the sound design of Joe Court and Brandon Reed with musical direction by Matt Deitchman gave this intricate score the support it needed."
Jerald Raymond Pierce - Chicago Stage Standard
"The stark and smart scenic design of Lauren Nigri, the bleak and occasionally kaleidoscope lighting design of Mike Durst, the unique uniforms of costume designer Izumi Inaba, the properties collection culled by Eleanor Kahn, the booming sound design of Joe Court and Brandon Reed and the incredible invention helmed by technical director Jacob Palmer, all work in tandem to illustrate an insidious, industrial world."
Ian Rigg - Chicagolandmusicaltheatre.com
"Mike Durst's moody illumination, Joe Court and Brandon Reed's fresh sound design and Izumi Inaba's expressive costumes all give additional depth to this production."
Colin Douglas - Chicago Theatre Review
"Important in a space such as The Den's Heath, each singer's vocals are well-supported by sound design by Joe Court and Brandon Reed, with some particularly gut-wrenching sound cues at the end of the piece that leave the right balance of cause and effect up to the audience's imaginations."
Brent Eickhoff - Third Coast Review
Jerusalem (Profiles Theatre, 2016)
"Jerusalem' (with a fantastically gritty set by Thad Hallstein, lighting by Mike Rathburn, sound by Brandon Reed and costumes by AmarA*jk) is a massive undertaking for Profiles. And they have tapped all that is holy and profane in it."
Hedy Weiss - Chicago Sun-Times
"Brandon Reed's sound surrounds the world with a fine balance of hard and soft edges."
Patrick Rybarczyk - BroadwayWorld.com
"The set design (by Thad Hallstein), the sound (by Brandon Reed), and the lighting (by Mike Rathburn) all contributed to the chaotic atmosphere."
Tom Williams - Chicago Critic
"All the designers earn a shout out-Thad Hallstein for the set design, Mike Rathburn for the lighting, Brandon Reed for the atmospheric sound, and someone whose name is AmarA*jk for the wild costumes."
Dan Zeff - Chicagolandtheatrereviews.com
"Enhanced by the subtle sound work by Brandon Reed, the final sequence of the drama sent shivers down my spine every single night and filled me with a longing to answer, to believe, longing for the magic and to be a part of it."
Amara*jk - medium.com/@AmarAartist
Hedy Weiss - Chicago Sun-Times
"Brandon Reed's sound surrounds the world with a fine balance of hard and soft edges."
Patrick Rybarczyk - BroadwayWorld.com
"The set design (by Thad Hallstein), the sound (by Brandon Reed), and the lighting (by Mike Rathburn) all contributed to the chaotic atmosphere."
Tom Williams - Chicago Critic
"All the designers earn a shout out-Thad Hallstein for the set design, Mike Rathburn for the lighting, Brandon Reed for the atmospheric sound, and someone whose name is AmarA*jk for the wild costumes."
Dan Zeff - Chicagolandtheatrereviews.com
"Enhanced by the subtle sound work by Brandon Reed, the final sequence of the drama sent shivers down my spine every single night and filled me with a longing to answer, to believe, longing for the magic and to be a part of it."
Amara*jk - medium.com/@AmarAartist
Our Town (Chautauqua Theater Company, 2015)
"When the milkman comes on stage, other actors rattle real glass bottles (remember those?) for sound effects and then later VO a hen house full of angry chickens."
Peter Hall - buffalorising.com
Peter Hall - buffalorising.com
Hello and Goodbye (Bluebird Arts, 2015)
"...Solomon takes Ulaszek's lighting and simple set with the sound design of Brandon Reed to craft deeply moving moments that keep the play from falling into a world of complete monotony."
Jerald Raymond Pierce - Chicago Stage Standard
"Brandon Reed's sound design, early on, complements Ulaszek's set, providing a constant reminder of the noisy, dirty streets just beyond the walls that look like they may fall any minute."
Christine Malcom - Edge Chicago
Jerald Raymond Pierce - Chicago Stage Standard
"Brandon Reed's sound design, early on, complements Ulaszek's set, providing a constant reminder of the noisy, dirty streets just beyond the walls that look like they may fall any minute."
Christine Malcom - Edge Chicago