Here is what Star Tribune critics had to say about the six shows he directed in 2015:
"Oliver!" Rothstein's steampunk take on this musical for Hennepin Theatre Trust and Theater Latté Da "manages to stay true to the material while putting an original stamp on style and mood that allows even die-hard fans of the 1968 movie to see the show with fresh eyes."
"Into the Woods" His staging of this Stephen Sondheim musical for Theater Latté Da "entertains through scenic economy and sheer inventiveness, while never forgetting that simple, straightforward storytelling is at the heart of its complicated magic."
"Peter Pan" Smart changes in the script for Children's Theatre "broaden the potential contemporary audience for 'Peter Pan,' allowing Rothstein's entertaining production to spirit us through the stars to Neverland."
"Choir Boy" Tarell Alvin McCraney's spare and poetic writing in this coming-of-age play "gets an equally taut treatment from Rothstein. … At the end of Friday's opening, outgoing Guthrie director Joe Dowling pronounced the show 'extraordinary.' Indeed, it is."
"Sweeney Todd" The pairing of actors Mark Benninghofen and Sally Wingert in Rothstein's second Sondheim of the year was "slightly magic, producing the kind of evening in the theater that has you imagining yourself years from now, content that you caught this gig."
"ALL IS CALM: THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE OF 1914" Rothstein's restaging of his own holiday classic "is indeed different. It is better. This small masterpiece has a unity and a vocal power that we had not experienced previously."
