“Anna Louizos’s set is perhaps the most stunning one ever for this play, which has been produced numerous times throughout the country. If you look at trailers and scenes of Native Gardens on YouTube from other productions, you’ll agree that they just don’t compare. It’s not just that the gardens are not as impressive, but the houses aren’t memorable. The Del Valles’ blue house may be a fixer-upper, but it’s easy to see why they bought it, and the Butley’s house is magazine worthy. You can see inside each house, with the Del Valle house still in need of interior remodeling, and the Butley house with as much charm inside as outside.”

“Audiences can appreciate the set design by Anna Louizos as soon as they enter the theater, both for its floral beauty and the detailed depiction of the homes of the two couples. Patrons can’t help but feel as if they are back fence neighbors watching the action in real time. Shanahan encouraged the audience to photograph the set for sharing on social media.”

“Anna Louizos’s set is simply dazzling. She displays the exteriors of two Washington D.C. houses. The home of Tania Del Valle (Linedy Genao) and Pablo Del Valle (Anthony Michael Martinez) is shingled in green and dwarfed by a huge oak tree which drops acorns and more upon their property. Virginia Butley (Paula Leggett Chase) and Frank Butley (Adam Heller) live next door in a handsome brick house that serves as a showcase for Frank’s garden, replete with pastel-colored hydrangeas. The Butleys also have a deck upon which rests a small wrought iron table and a few chairs.”

“Given the layers of intensional staginess here, Anna Louizos’ scenic design doesn’t have to be so deeply detailed and all-encompassing, but it is a real treat that it is. We see the whole two-story back exterior of the houses, which are the center of the dispute. Frank’s garden is shown as the kind of which his character would be inordinately proud, with big bright chemically fertilized flowers.”

“Anna Louizos’ sumptuous set confronts us with two different backyards, situated in an upscale neighborhood in Washington DC. On our right, a well-appointed brick house with a stone porch on the back and a very well-tended garden full of bright blooms; on our left, a less maintained house, with siding, overhung by the leaves and branches of a large tree, and a yard with a simple table and chairs near an ivied fence. ”