‘Little Women’ blooms with warmth in Northglenn
Toni Tresca, On Stage Colorado, March 2026
“…Under director Shelly Gaza… it’s a deeply sincere, approachable, and life-affirming evening that, while mostly faithful to the original novel, allows this particular ensemble to leave a clear imprint on it… in Gaza’s staging… the production moves briskly, with a sense of continuous motion that mirrors the passage of time… The show depends on the audience being carried from one emotional beat to the next without getting bogged down. Gaza manages that well. Scenes arrive and dissolve with an ease that mirrors memory… In a moment when so much feels fractured, Phamaly’s Little Women makes a persuasive case for connection and the idea that family, however it is formed, remains a place where difference is not just accommodated but held with care.”
Phamaly takes on Shakespeare in a joyous production
Alex Miller, On Stage Colorado, August 2023
“For this show — Phamaly’s first full Shakespeare production — director Shelly Gaza assembled a fantastic cast of Phamaly regulars and newcomers to perform one of the Bard’s most accessible plays in one of the best venues in Colorado to do so: the Denver Center’s in-the-round Kilstrom Theatre… Gaza makes good use of the Kilstrom’s space, using minimal, easily moveable set pieces to give the actors plenty of room… Phamaly Theatre productions always leave me feeling inspired by the determination and talent of these actors, but this one in particular really stood out as an amazing accomplishment that will go down as one of the best things Phamaly has ever done.”
Winners Announced For The 2023 BroadwayWorld Denver Awards
Best Direction Of A Play
Shelly Gaza - A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM - Phamaly Theatre Company
Best Play
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM - Phamaly Theatre Company, Denver Center for the Performing Arts
Winners Announced For The 2025 BroadwayWorld Denver Awards
Best Play
STEEL MAGNOLIAS - The Candlelight
At Candlelight, ‘Anastasia’ soars with a revolutionary edge
Toni Tresca, On Stage Colorado, June 2024
“Candlelight’s production, under the direction of Shelly Gaza, embraces the show’s epic scope with a lavish aesthetic and large, dynamic cast. Gaza, who previously helmed The Secret Garden for the company, handles the sizable ensemble well — 17 adults and two rotating child actors…”
Inspiring the Next Generation of Actors One Day at a Time
Graeme Tasked, The Mirror, November 2025
“‘When you feel the importance of your one small piece in this bigger thing, I think we create adults that are really engaged citizens,’ Gaza said. I think it’s a really important thing for a young person to experience’… Today, Gaza is a professor of acting in UNC’s School of Theatre Arts and Dance. She brings her love for theater, and its ability to make everyone feel important, to class every day…”
Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s ‘Taming of the Shrew’ wins with charm, depth
Daily Camera, June 2017
“The show’s success rests in large part on the two leads, Gaza and Coopwood. The true test arrives in their characters’ first meeting. Both seem stunned into silence at the immediacy of their attraction; both convey an attitude of stubbornness and fear in the face of an overpowering, debilitating kind of love… Gaza never approaches her character in a one-dimensional way. Even as she bends to her husband’s will, she approaches the character with grit and independence.”