"The world premiere is directed by the excellent José Zayas for Repertorio Español... Director José Zayas creates a few family moments between the three men that feel disturbingly realistic in their frank affection and casual violence."
-Helen Shaw, TimeOut New York, Barcelo Con Hielo

"…handsomely directed by José Zayas and performed by an excellent cast…"
-TimeOut New York, Southern Promises

"…never has the hypocrisy of slave owners or their slaves’ plights been so cuttingly and jarringly funny... It’s a tribute to director José Zayas’ staging that audiences laugh heartily throughout much of Promises, which is hardly the stuff of comedy."
–American Theater Web, Southern Promises

"Director José Zayas has infused the proceedings with a brisk unity on a tiny stage..."
-Backstage, Southern Promises

"But thanks to the evocative design, and the assured touch of Zayas (who has directed the play in New York and elsewhere), it’s a focus that draws us in."
-The Washington Post, The House of the Spirits

"Helmer Jose Zayas’ imaginative yet simple staging keeps the heart of the matter front and center, with the inexplicable never more than a few beats or a couple of steps away."
-Variety, The House of the Spirits

"José Zayas has directed with what comes across as a real passion for the material."
-The New York Times, The House of the Spirits 

"José Zayas uses several theatrical devices to great effect — video, words written in light on the floor and then swirling into nothingness before you can read them, a trap door that becomes a grave — so this dog is played by a large puppet animated, quite visibly, by one of the actors. As the dog-puppet sinks to the floor, the actor walks slowly away from it, trailing a blood-red scarf — a very effective signifier of ebbing life."
-Denver Westword, The House of the Spirits 

"Gracefully directed by José Zayas."
-Maryland Theatre Guide, The House of the Spirits

"In the wrong hands, this poetic material could be static and precious. But director José Zayas finds the perfect, dreamy sensibility in Svich’s writing, and In the Time of the Butterflies is richly alive and atmospheric in a bilingual production at Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis...Zayas’ design team uses digital and video projections, active lighting schemes, lots of sound and traditional costuming to create a kaleidoscopic universe of the mind. On occasion, such an aggressive technical accompaniment can overwhelm a play. Here, Zayas finds enough delicacy to keep the production fluid and focused on the story."
-StarTribune, In the Time of the Butterflies

"...Led by José Zayas’s artful, sophisticated direction."
-Metro Weekly, The House of the Spirits 

"Director José Zayas, who directed GALA’s acclaimed The House of the Spirits/La casa de los espíritus in 2013, whips up the energy-level to an animated, farcical pitch that never lets down."
-DC Theatre Scene, Cancún

"Director José Zayas celebrates the play’s eccentricities, his skilled actors able to simultaneously play the jokes and plumb the depths. Zayas even handles slapstick moments with dreamlike style — an angry tussle may, for example, morph into a pirouette as someone collapses onto a chair.
-The Washington Post, Cancún 

"In José Zayas’s hands, Galceran’s multi-layered mystery is beautifully realized as he directs with a steady hand, as well as comedic precision, in order to allow his actors to express the subtle shadings of everyday characters to whom we can all relate."
-DC Metro Theatre Arts, Cancún 

"Director José Zayas and his cast handle the slapstick elements particularly well, with characters falling over lounge chairs and opening and closing doors in increasingly exaggerated motions." 
-Washington City Paper, Cancún

"There isn’t a gesture or dance step wasted under José Zayas’ direction..."
-DC Theatre Scene, Chronicle of a Death Foretold 

"Zayas makes this indictment all the more searing on stage, with a cast of folksy but not particularly lovable villagers, ominous lighting, and a skeletal set of rough hewn wood structures (a church, a store, a cockfighting ring, all seemingly picked apart by vultures)."
-Washington City Paper, Chronicle of a Death Foretold 

"Pulses are sure to quicken over the course of two hours thanks to Zayas's taut staging, which takes a delicate situation and refuses to treat it delicately."
-TheaterMania, Exquisita Agonía

"Director José Zayas has staged this arresting production with visual flair. Mr. Zayas' sensitivity for the material enables the cast to mine all of the play's ... Ravishing on all levels, Exquisita Agonía entertains and enraptures."
-TheaterScene.net, ​Exquisita Agonía

"Director José Zayas commandingly marshals his actors through the somewhat unpredictable plot with poise and nuance." 
-Theater Times, Exquisita Agonía

"Sprightly directed by José Zayas."
-The New York Times, Privilege

"Director José Zayas brings out the risks..."
-Talkin' Broadway, Queen of Basel

"José Zayas's direction has never felt so simultaneously loose and necessary, which is to say that while the actors appear to have freedom enough on stage for anything to happen, this is not actually a comic book, and so the action sequences and transitions must have been carefully planned out (albeit invisibly so). Few directors could so adroitly (and creatively) handle the call for an army of fire-breathing tigers, a cult of cannibalistic sirens (Jenny Seastone Stern and Diana Oh, putting the aces in menaces), and a spectral Gunslinger (Steven Rishard), to say nothing of Bobby Moreno's appearance as a befuddled giant named Lothar."
-That Sounds Cool, PS Jones and the Frozen City

"José Zayas directs with what comes across as a real passion for the material."
-The New York Times, The House of the Spirits