“Lighting Designer Thomas P. Gardner used a variety of colors, strobes, and other types of lighting to perfectly set the scene. There are many different emotions running throughout the show, from light and carefree to dark and mysterious to action, and Gardner has deftly created a lighting design scheme to highlight what is going on onstage. This is a perfect example of how lighting complements the action and showcases how a stage production is truly an ensemble work of which lighting is a crucial component. Gardner doesn’t just light the stage. He creates mood. That’s the mark of a true artist.”
— Leonard Taube - Theatre Bloom
“The haze that coats the stage makes an excellent 3-D scrim for the dazzling lighting created by Lighting Designer Thomas P. Gardner. The special spots are effective, mood washes are moody, and I rather wish I could see the show again just to look more at the lighting.”
— Cybele Pomeroy - Broadwayworld.com
“[Rent at Iron Crow Theatre is a] Thrilling, stunningly realized, fully inhabited production! ”
— J. Wynn Rousuck - WYPR
“The lighting design by Thomas Gardner set the mood and provided exciting special effects. For example, the shadow of an actual cat walking back and forth across stage at the opening of the musical and a stunning, ripple effect received enthusiastic applause. The lighting that revealed the Heavyside Layer was awe-inspiring—a single row of large, bright LED lights upstage were hidden behind what appeared to be a garage door. As fog slowly moves out through the lighting, Grizabella slowly walked towards the light, giving it a celestial affect.”
— Ronald Malone - MD Theatre Guide
“The scenic design by Chris Miller and lighting design by Thomas P. Gardner worked in concert to reflect the tension between Jamie’s dreams and his reality. School desks made up the majority of the set and were manipulated by the cast to build new locations with each scene change. The constant presence of the pressure of school, his careers teacher’s expectations, and the judgment of his peers likewise pervaded every area of Jamie’s life. Simultaneously, an electric arrangement of LED lighting hung suspended over the set for the entirety of the show, making a daydream sequence or catwalk-like strobe lighting only a spark away.”
— Morgan Pavey - DC Theatre Arts
“Illuminating this theatrical masterpiece is Thomas P. Gardner and there are some truly breathtaking moments of lighting design work firing away from Gardner’s arsenal throughout the production. The strobe-blinking moonlight when it dances across the Jellicle Cats, the dizzying enigma of colorful chaos that erupts during “Magical Mister Mistoffolees”, and the playfully mischievous feline silhouettes that grace the stage at the top of the production are just a few of dozens that are truly impressive. And turn your eyes to either side of the house once the first note of the orchestra drops and you’ll see—instead of the ‘Cockpit in Court’ logo and verbiage projected onto the walls— larger than life, finely articulated Cat gobo-projections. It’s fabulously feral.”
— Amanda N. Gunther - Theatre Bloom
“It was still a nice evening with the audience laughing heartily throughout. The acting, set, lighting (Thomas P. Gardner), and costumes (Tiffany Zellner) are top-notch (the angel wings move is too adorable!) .”
— Emily Hofstaedter - MD Theatre Guide
“The sound (Zach Sexton) and lighting (Thomas P. Gardner) designs were as tongue-in-cheek bombastic as one could ask for in a show featuring an overlord as temperamental and capricious as any denizen of Olympus.”
— Bob Ashby - DC Theatre Arts
“lighting designer Thomas Gardner takes a canvas of white curtains and turns them into a work of art that was both grounding in time and space and visually beautiful. ”
— Lynne Menefee - MD Theatre Guide
“Thomas Gardner is to be commended on the wonderful and emotional lighting of the show, highlighting all the highs and lows of the story and really capturing the emotional intent of every song.”
— Jon Jon Johnson
“Thomas Gardner’s lighting is as inventive and clever as any I’ve seen locally”
— Timoth David Copney - MD Theatre Guide
“Thomas Gardner’s lighting design is, in a word, splendid.”
— -Jason Crawford Samios-Uy - Backstage Baltimore
“The final star of the show was the lighting design by Thomas Gardner”