Reviews

Oliver! - Five Star Theatricals

"...an award-worthy performance by regional theatre star, Monika Peña, whose turn as the high-spirited and sympathetic Nancy is worth the price of admission alone."
-- LA Excites

"...Peña dazzles as Nancy, with a gorgeous Broadway style voice, something vivacious, deep, life-loving, gutsy, and rare in her performance that brings tears in 'As Long As He Needs Me'..."
-- Broadway World

"As young as she is, Peña is strikingly seasoned, with a robust timbre and vocal agility that stuns with each successive number..."
-- LA Excites

Grease - Musical Theater West

"Monika Peña as Sandy has more than one song on her own—“It’s Raining on Prom Night,” “Hopelessly Devoted,” and “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee (Reprise)”—and shines in each, her voice capturing the sweet strength and trepidation of a young girl learning to make her own decisions."
-- LA Theatrix

Man of La Mancha - Candlelight Pavilion

"As Aldonza, a radiant, gutsy Monika Peña reveals crystal-clear legit pipes (in an exquisite 'Dulcinea' reprise) to match the rocker vocals she showed off as Chance Theater's Lizzie Borden,"
-- StageSceneLA

“Her character of a regularly abused firebrand hellion is played with just the right amount of sullenness, and presented as a complex woman trying to find her own self-worth and dignity in tough conditions. And Ms. Peña handily fills her mantle with layers of complexity.”
-- The Show Report

Lizzie: The Musical - Chance Theater

• OVATION AWARD WINNER - Best Production of a Musical (Intimate Theater)
• OVATION AWARD NOMINEE - Best Lead Actress in a Musical

"Peña, equaling if not surpassing her sensational star turn in last year's Violet, digging into Lizzie's anger and her pain and her primal urges while belting out sky-high notes to rival the roughest rock diva."
-- StageSceneLA

"...all four women are exceptionally strong, both dramatically and vocally, particularly Monika Peña in the title role..."
-- LA Times

"Once again, I am incredibly impressed by the excellent Monika Peña... who plays Lizzie with a relate-able sensitivity that slowly stokes a fiery, bubbling aggravation that is mesmerizing to watch unfold. Of course, it helps that she has the singing pipes to truly realize this metamorphosis."
-- Broadway World

Violet - Chance Theater

"Peña's performance of the title role is ultimately a winning one---a manic cacophony of emotions both subtle and overt, tinged with a palpable ache and longing in her singing voice that is evident right from the start."
-- Broadway World