"Remmes can write scenes that are hysterically funny, scenes that actors might pay to play. His flip dialogue is rife with insights into the rituals and pitfalls of first dates, the fragility of relationships, and the nature of life and death and everything else in between. [He] succeeds in making us laugh mercilessly and entertaining us with one-liners, thought-provoking sentiments and delightful character quirks.
Nightlife (Los Angeles)

For GRUMPY OLD MEN: THE MUSICAL
2018 East Coast Premiere – Ogunquit Playhouse
2019 West Coast Premiere – La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts

"Grumpy Old Men the Musical hits the mark right from the start; there's no shortcomings here. With a well-written, fun script laced with comic one-liners, lovable characters and a lighthearted musical score, Grumpy Old Men exceeded all my expectations … Everything works extraordinarily well in this premiere production. The story is fun and the characters lively, engaging and memorable."

— Broadway World

"Dan Remmes has done an excellent job of adapting the movie for the stage … The book is great, the score is outstanding … I would be very surprised if this production does not move on to Broadway."

— Post-Gazette

"Book writer Dan Remmes’ smartest move is in taking the local citizenry and giving them names, occupations and personalities brought to vibrant life… A crowd-pleaser in the classic Bye Bye Birdie/Damn Yankees/Pajama Game mode but with enough contemporary sensibility to satisfy 21st century audiences (and not just those of John and Max’s advanced years), Grumpy Old Men: The Musical has exactly what it takes to become a regional theater favorite."

— StageScene L.A.

"I was surprised how much I enjoyed the West Coast premiere of Grumpy Old Men: The Musical. For a crowd pleaser, Grumpy is unexpectedly heartwarming, moving and at all times, highly enjoyable."

— Hollywood Progressive

"The grumpy hurrah remains natural and poignant. Much of that credit significantly belongs to scripture Dan Remmes His compassion in his book for these now well-known characters eschews real sentimentality and provides a certain dignity even amid the ribald banter and utter puerility of the pension-age adolescents."

— Whittier Daily News

"Full of recognizable small-town characters who excel in the rapid-fire comedy moments, which are a big part of what's best about the show."

— Portland Press Herald

"When you leave the show, you're likely to want to reach out to someone who means something to you and let them know that they do."

— Whittier Daily News

"Book writer Dan Remmes, along with late lyricist Nick Meglin of MAD Magazine, have crafted a timeliness piece of work that will appeal to both audiences who have seen the original film and those who are coming to the story with fresh eyes."

— Seacoast Online

"The musical numbers are creatively coiffed to fit the template of the fast-moving production – sometimes touching, sometimes raucous, all times enticing — that add a layer of fun and laughter to the mix while not detracting one iota from the spirit of the artistic comedy on display."

— Journal Tribune

"Dynamically comical and totally brilliant."

— IRNE Awards

"Remmes' script is overflowing with quick-witted gags and sly word-puns … at turns hilarious, while at others startling affecting, many of the best lines or crucial plot twists delightfully take you off guard, making their impact lingering and lasting … ensuring that by the curtain call, odds are you'll be challenged to elicit a smile large enough for what you've just experienced!"

— Bucking Trends (Los Angeles)

"Dan Remmes' book keeps the humor at a high level and pushes a happy ending at every turn."

— Broadway World (Los Angeles)

"The fictional version of the tiny real-life town of Wabasha, Minn., brims with the kind of eccentric, zany figures that have populated musicals since the Golden Age … a feel good show."

— Voice of OC

"Grumpy Old Men: The Musical brings all the Midwestern charm of the film to the stage … If you get a kick out of musicals, puns and all things go-lucky, Grumpy Old Men won't disappoint."

— The Orange County Register

"You're in for a slap-happy feast."

— The Theater Mirror

"This is an improbable, offbeat romantic comedy … I loved it."

— The Forecaster

"This play is not to be missed."

— Boxing Over Broadway

FOR OTHER PLAYS

"Usually the search [for self] isn't as amusing or as well-crafted as this comedy by Dan Remmes.
"The writer could have turned this into a movie-of-the-week bittersweet drama, but lucky for us, he didn't.  He instead gives what feels like the true story of the subtle, emotional and mental gymnastics the mind goes through after the body nearly dies.  He does it mostly beneath the surface, with a deft hand and many funny jabs.
"All three [characters] trade a lot of witty, barbed sarcastic remarks and ironic jokes, giving it a real solid foundation in today's attitudes."

— The State, Columbia, SC
 

"A romantic comedy the likes of which we rarely see on stage these days.  We do care about these characters, and we want to know how things will work out between them and why."

— Backstage West (Hollywood)

 
"It's a real pleasure to report the appearance of a new and genuinely funny play.
"The playwright has a wonderfully inventive comic mind, writing dialogue that is consistently clever and, what's more, continuously funny. Most impressive is his seamlessly merging the disparate genres of farce and romantic comedy, a very difficult trick to pull off.
"What Doesn't Kill Us certainly makes us laugh, and that indeed is therapeutic … the prescription from this corner would be to see it without fail."

— Columbia Free Times, SC
 

"Everything works; the dialogue's witty and scenes fast-paced . . . Bring a date."

— Hi! Drama

"Playwright Dan Remmes does a fine job of covering familiar territory—sexual innuendo, tension, expression—without relying on cliches.  Through repetition, with characters trading similar lines through the show and the action revolving around three main settings, we bounce around in the same bewildering cycle Joy endures . . . the slapstick humor and energy of the show do not eclipse well-placed lines.
"An underlying theme of self-actualization rings clear.
"A delightful romp, leaving one with a smile and a sense of contentment for life's simpler moments."         

— VOX Newspapers, Burlington, VT
 

"Sharp and funny.
"Certainly, they're [the characters] as self-absorbed as any of Jerry's [Seinfeld] TV gang, but Remmes has fleshed them out to the point where we actually care about each of them.
"Portland audiences are used to seeing plays in development or in workshop . . . take advantage of it; if What Doesn't Kill Us is a New York success, you can say you knew it all along."

— Portland Press Herald, ME
 

"Hilarious comedy . . . a raucous, wild, comic take on the bizarre twists and turns of dating and love … Pure fun, making for a perfect summer evening at the theatre.  Mr. Remmes' play [is] bright and breezy . . . unabashed fun from beginning to end. For those who haven't managed to date lately, What Doesn't Kill Us will come off as wildly funny if improbable.  For those who have, it will come across as too, too real and familiar . . . You don't want to miss this one, or you may find yourself heading to New York to pay outrageous prices to enjoy it."

— The Standard Times, MA

I have attended plays three times as long that didn't impact me as much. The play was powerful … you felt for each and every one of them as the evening unfolded and the dynamics at each table changed. The play is worth of a second and maybe a third viewing.
Bob Leggett, HOLLYWOOD FRINGE Certified Reviewer

"Hilarious."     

— L.A. Weekly
 

"If what doesn't kill us makes us strong, anyone in need of strengthening—or laughing—should not miss the play What Doesn't Kill Us.
"Dan Remmes presents a superlative script that is brought to enchanting life.
"Imagine being stuck in an elevator with the man whose live-in girlfriend you've been dating . . . you've got a scene that'll keep you chuckling into next week."

— The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA


"As the story begins to unfold, the confused relationship and mis-timed love is reminiscent of one of the great romantic comedies, A.R. Guerney's Love Letters.  But this contemporary comedy captures the heart and soul of the pop standard bearers of the genre.
"The first act is playful and upbeat, while leaving the audience just enough off balance to wonder what can come next . . . as you begin to feel comfortable with the direction of the play, the second act opens and just continually smacks you on the head.
"A kind of Neil Simon meets Woody Allen."

— The Middleboro Gazette, MA

 
"Remmes does his best writing with the character of the eccentric bellhop who works in a high-rise hotel but is afraid of elevators . . . late in the second act he has a wonderful 10-minute scene that's a jewel."

—  The Daily Californian


"Amanda Jordan and Norman Draper sound like a couple of characters in a Noel Coward play.  They're closer to Neil Simon's world, actually, though hip enough about sex to pass as the baffled friends and lovers on Seinfeld or Mad About You."
"That kind of stage writing, with its formulaic mix of wisecracks and feelings, makes Dan Remmes' Night Out a swell vehicle . . ."

—  San Diego Union Tribune 


"Playwright Remmes had developed personable characters that will have you pulling for each one as this convoluted plot unfolds . . . a sassy comedy full of clever repartee that zings between the delightful characters"   

— Punch-In International Syndicate

"I credit the witty and at times poignant writing."

– Stephanie Bray, HOLLYWOOD FRINGE
Certified Reviewer

"The comedy here—and there is good and plenty of it—proceeds almost entirely from the situation . . . these players provide the delivery and timing for this downpour of gag-lines to keep the audience laughing throughout.
"One feels great admiration for playwright Remmes, his seemingly inexhaustible wittiness, his invention of unexpected little turns of events to keep the story rolling out, and especially his delicacy in bringing the whole trifle to an acceptable and not entirely pat conclusion."

— Drama-Logue (Hollywood)

AS AN ACTOR

Dan Remmes, however, almost steals the show with his rendition of Mister Cellphone in which he laments that everyone, including his wife Roxie, sees right through him. Ironically he exhibits more emotional commitment in his character than the rest of the cast.
The Daily, Somerville, MA
"Dan Remmes seems a natural for the upper-crust, mother-writing Natwick, bringing to the role a sweet and understated charm."

—Backstage, New York City

 
"Remmes' portrayal of sarcasm is a joy to watch."

—Punch-in International Syndicate

"The role of Barnette Lloyd, happy to parade his professionalism and three-piece suit before Babe, whom he not so secretly admires, is well done by Dan Remmes."

—Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA

 
¨Remmes gives an affecting portrayal of the conflicted son in this piece."

—NY Theatre Briefs

 
"Liver for Breakfast was terrifically acted by Dan Remmes"

—Off-Off-Broadway.com (OOBR)

 
"Solidly acted by Dan Remmes"

—New York Theatre Experience, Inc. (NYTheatre.com)


"Dan Remmes as Amos Hart turns in a superb performance . . . and when Amos whines that no one notices him in his show stopper, Mister Cellophane, Remmes is anything but brushed under the rug."

—The Observer, Medford, MA

"Dan Remmes cuts loose with a decidedly different portrayal of FDR that gets laughs in all the right places when the actor drifts back and forth between comic book character and egoist President anxious to stand out in the crowd, the political arena and the spotlight. It's high camp, played out to sheer perfection."

—Jim Ruocco, Take 2


"Dan Remmes plays a hilarious drunken, drug-taking young man."

—Jewish Times, Long Island, NY

 
"With the help of talented actors (Remmes is not too shabby himself) and finely tuned direction, What Doesn't Kill Us succeeds in making us laugh mercilessly . . ."

—Night Life, Los Angeles

 
"She has a devoted and clever boyfriend, Karl (an adorable Dan Remmes) . . ."

—Night Life, Los Angeles


Dan Remmes acquits himself nicely as Tom the vet."

—NY Theatre.com

 
"Dan Remmes has the difficult job of keeping the rather simple Tom from becoming a joke, but he succeeds admirably."

—OOBR

"Terrifically performed by Dan Remmes."

—Theatre Online