"Kristen Calvin, whose range is evident from her portrayals of Janis Joplin in Beehive and Beggar Woman in Sweeney Todd, again shows her versatility in this production as she compellingly portrays a spectrum of characters. She is particularly delightful as Vi Petty, music producer Norman Petty's motherly wife." -Stephanie Bartlett for the Ashland Sneak Preview
Petra in A Little Night Music at the Camelot Theatre
"...(the always to-die for Kristen Calvin). Calvin's seductiveness towards Henrik, Frid, and even Anne for a moment, bring a comedic and real touch to their dramatic employers. Calvin's song, "Miller's Son", is a break away from the story, but it is powerful and masterfully done." -Ella Diaz for TheatreinOregon.com
"Calvin's brash style plays well in this role, and in contrast to the upper-class women who restrain their favors and sell their souls. Calvin's generous performance is marvelously warm hearted and entertaining." -Maureen Flanagan Battistella for the Mail Tribune
Beggar Woman in Sweeney Todd at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre
“Calvin's Beggar Woman is exactly as off-putting and occasionally grotesque as she should be. She goes from being a sharp thorn in Mrs. Lovett’s side to breaking our hearts in the final moments, and Calvin tackles it all wonderfully.” -Ella Nelson-Mahon for TheatreinOregon.com
"Calvin continues to impress Rogue Valley playgoers with the depth and range of her performance." -Maureen Flanagan Battistella for the Mail Tribune
"Kristen Calvin, who's a hoot as the more-than-meets-the-eye beggar woman, joins others for several songs but shines with a solo rendering of the "Beggar Woman's Lullaby."" -Lee Juillerat with the Herald & News
"Kristen Calvin portrays the Beggar Woman with compelling flexibility and restraint." -Stephanie Bartlett for the Ashland Sneak Preview
Mama Cass Elliot in Spotlight on the Mamas and the Papas at the Camelot Theatre
"...Calvin feels like a force of nature. There's never a dull moment with her: she feels every beat, and can't help but move, taking you along with her. Her renditions of "Words of Love" and "Dream a Little Dream of Me" show such a range, you can't help but sit in awe of her; especially considering she also wrote and directed this show..." -Ella Nelson-Mahon for TheatreinOregon.com
Janis Joplin in BEEHIVE 60s Musical at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre
"Perhaps the highlight of the evening was Kristen Calvin in the role of Laura, who was wonderful throughout but was a standout Janis Joplin. Sure, Calvin doesn’t have Joplin’s ragged, hoarse voice, but she’s got Joplin’s vocal power and contagious mad energy. Calvin did Joplin just right, showing all the craziness of concerts and drugs and celebrity — and her costume suited too, with purple wire rims, that fur hat, big rings, lots of beads and embroidered bell-bottom jeans. Calvin had that penultimate set with Cry Baby, Try (Just a Little Bit Harder) and Bobby McGee. By the end the audience was howling in acclaim." -Maureen Flanagan Battistella for the Mail Tribune
Nancy in Oliver! at the Camelot Theatre
"Kristen Calvin has the role of Nancy, Sikes’ woman, and it is delightful to see Calvin in a dramatic role. Her rendition of “As Long as He Needs Me” is heartbreaking, given the position of an unmarried woman in Victorian England." -Maureen Flanagan Battistella for the Mail Tribune
Diana in Lend Me a Tenor: the musical at Collaborative Theatre Project
"As Diana, Calvin is amazing and drop-dead gorgeous. She is costumed in the exaggerated, theatrical traditions of the opera in long, shape-shimmering gowns, exposed bosom and bigger-than-life attitude. Diva Diana seeks Il Stupendo’s favor, patronage and connections, so she comes to his hotel room to demonstrate her talents — which are considerable. “May I Have a Moment” in Act II is an operatic buffet that is not to be believed. As Diana, Calvin performs a series of operatic highlights in 30-second, nonstop hysterical excerpts — love, suicide, longing, death, murder, rage, regret — with props she pulls out of a suitcase. It’s “O Sole Mio,” Verdi, Puccini, Wagner’s Brunhilde and more than you can imagine. The pace of this scene was so madcap fast that it’s not clear whether Calvin took a breath throughout." -Maureen Flanagan Battistella for the Mail Tribune
Janis Joplin in Spotlight on Janis Joplin & Tina Turner at the Camelot Theatre
"The first half of the show was extremely well executed; Calvin, a staple on Rogue Valley stages, was at her poised and full-throated best as the seductive Joplin. With numerous hit songs including “Piece of My Heart,” “Mercedes Benz” and “Ball and Chain,” Calvin owned the stage and wowed the audience with her excellent vocals and impassioned delivery. Her inflection and tone was as close to a perfect imitation of Joplin as I’ve ever seen. Calvin rocks around the stage with an unrelenting potency, outfitted in the ultimate crazy hippie ensemble, crowned with a wacky headpiece that is an obvious homage to Joplin’s weird millinery on the cover of “Pearl,” her second (and final) solo studio album from 1970. Calvin jumps and jives so much in her explosive performance that she loses pieces of her costume mid-melody; a necklace that is inadequate to the task lands on the floor during a particularly potent delivery. Calvin notices, stays focused and in character, while brightly booting the offending trinket to upstage right without losing her composure or flattening a note. She’s a hell of an entertainer, and this show solidifies her standing as a bona fide solo performer with chops to spare." -Jeffrey Gillespie for the Ashland Daily Tidings
Ensemble in She Loves Me at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre
"One of the most satisfying aspects of “She Loves Me” is the ensemble. Leah Kolb, Kristen Calvin and Haley Forsyth play wealthy, bedecked and bejeweled socialites who shop for lotion, perfume and notions. The ensemble performs a stylized, stylish ballet of gloved cosmetic beauty." -Maureen Flanagan Battistella for the Mail Tribune
"(Tony Carter) is particularly hilarious in his silent interactions with ensemble player Kristen Calvin, who is herself superb as a sniffing, preening, priggish housewife." -Jeffrey Gillespie for the Ashland Daily Tidings
Lady of the Lake in SPAMalot at the Camelot Theatre
"Kristen Calvin all but steals the show as The Lady of the Lake, a diva whose very fine vocal stylings rival Ethel Merman's. Ms. Calvin sells it in every way throughout the performance, with some of the best laughs in the show." -Stephanie Bartlett for the Ashland Sneak Preview
"In her current role as the Lady of the Lake in Camelot’s “Spamalot,” Calvin is on point as the high-velocity Siren to Don Matthew’s magniloquent King Arthur." -Jeffrey Gillespie in a spotlight article for the Ashland Daily Tidings
"The Lady of the Lake, played by Kristen Calvin, has more shimmery, sequined gowns than anyone could imagine, thanks to top-notch costume designer Kayla Bush. Calvin’s voice and performance are remarkable for range, power, gesture and expression; she is just magnificent in this play within a play of musical nonsense." -Maureen Flanagan Battistella for the Mail Tribune
"As the Lady of the Lake, Kristen Calvin has stolen this show as a gyrating, Janis Joplin style ruler of Avalon. Calvin is saucy and shimmering, backed up by a group of chorus girls; she summarily seduces Arthur and marks her man with a combination of sex appeal and political mechanizing that would make Mata Hari feel right at home. Calvin carries much of the water in this show, which seems only appropriate considering the fact that her character lives most of her life submerged in it." -Jeffrey Gillespie for the Ashland Daily Tidings
Janis Joplin in BEEHIVE 60's Musical at the Broadway Rose Theatre
"Two performers, Antonia Darlene and Kristen Calvin, ultimately dominate the show with their work in Act II. When Kristen Calvin first appears on stage in her Joplinesque hippie attire and exaggeratedly wild hair, the audience succumbs to brief moments of laughter; then she launched herself into “Piece of My Heart” and I knew all was well. By the end of “Ball and Chain” I was swept up in the excitement that brought the audience to its feet to honor the 6 women." -Tina Arth for Portland Westside Theatre Reviews
Magenta in Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre
"Kristen Calvin's Magenta is a hot-to-trot hurricane of coital depravity, with a number of memorable scenes that include an R-rated tête-à-tête with an inanimate object. The combined heat coming off of these two craven fembots made your reviewer want to rip down the fourth wall and join in the fun." -Jeffrey Gillespie for the Mail Tribune