Cabaret (SF Playhouse): Kim A. Tolman's Art Deco-infused set design succinctly captures the Weimar
aesthetic. The addition of a row of round, cafe-style tables and chairs close to
the stage further creates an intimate, nightclub aura. – SF WEEKLY
Frozen (Eureka Theatre): Kim Tolman's set design hits on various metaphorical strains with some wonderfully nuanced accents. She contains each character on his or her own blue mini-stage situated on the main stage, each of which vaguely resembles an ice floe. A diagonal line of blank book pages crossing the stage's back wall signals time passing, while forgiveness seems to burst wildly but just out of reach as a cloud of oversized white flowers hanging high overhead. – KQED.ORG
Frozen (Eureka Theatre): ...wonderfully evocative set by Kim A. Tolman.
– CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (Douglas Morrisson Theatre): Two words about the set design (Kim A. Tolman) simply fabulous.
– THE MILPITAS POST
Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (Douglas Morrisson Theatre): Kim A. Tolman's set has a wonderful voice of its own; lazy leaf paddle fans turn over crisp white furniture, draperies and doors of a bed/sitting room, creating a cool contrast to the hot blood and desperation of its inhabitants. Draping black trees that frame the stage seem to allude to the presence of crisis. – TRI-CITY VOICE
La Bohème (Portland State University):
The scenery by Kim A. Tolman was just right for evoking the artists threadbare attic, a splashy outdoor setting for Café Momus, and a chilly customs post at the city gate. – NORTHWEST REVERB
La Bohème (Portland State University):
Kim Tolman’s sets, especially the Latin Quarter street scene in the second act and the Orleans gate in the third, were eye-catching and a perfect scale for the production. – OREGONLIVE.COM
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (CenterREP): A spectacular set by Kim Tolman features an oversized sliver of a moon, perfect for Oberon and Puck to watch the consequences of their mischievous actions, and houses that collapse into forest environs all lit to undulating perfection by Kurt Landisman, with the actors dressed to impress by B. Modern.– CONTRA COSTA TIMES
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (CenterREP): Center Rep’s wily, innovative and enormously appealing production… Contributing to the mood of the piece is a clever and flexible set by Kim A. Tolman that serves as everything from the castle to a jungle gym for the dancers. – CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge (San Francisco Playhouse): Kim Tolman’s set had a story-book quality, whether in Scrooge’s house or office or Bob Cratchit’s home or a pub. We have in the background a skyline of 1840s London with Big Ben and Saint Paul’s Cathedral and the River Thames below. Carlin accomplished real theatrical magic with the set changes accompanied by music, explosive sound effects and flashing lights. – SAN FRANCISCO BAY TIMES
Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge (San Francisco Playhouse): The set is as skewed as the play itself: flats masquerading as Victorian book covers with a backdrop of London with crooked steeples and crosses, all, like London Bridge, falling down. – PACIFIC SUN
Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge (San Francisco Playhouse): Kim A. Tolman's clever set of jumbo books that "open" to provide scene changes is a solid primary design contrib. – VARIETY
Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge (San Francisco Playhouse): Kim A. Tolman's set is wonderful, with red Dickensian tomes on large book-like boards.
– TALKIN' BROADWAY REGIONAL NEWS & REVIEWS: SAN FRANCISCO
Mrs. Bob Cratchit’s Wild Christmas Binge (San Francisco Playhouse): Under Joy Carlin's bold but punctilious direction, the actors gleefully stamp up and down on set designer Kim A. Tolman's massive, three-dimensional reconstructions of dog-eared hardbacks, making a strong statement about the play's irreverent approach to so-called classics. – SF WEEKLY
A Moon For The Misbegotten (Hapgood Theatre Co.): Walking into the playhouse, theater-goers are struck by the exceedingly wide weather-worn farmhouse set that seems to stretch
across nearly the entire stage. Designed by Kim Tolman, a Bay Area professional set designer, it is the perfect backdrop for the
larger-than-life characters of this semi-autobiographical tale, which the Danville playwright dedicated to his troubled brother Jamie.
– CONTRA COSTA TIMES
A Moon For The Misbegotten (Hapgood Theatre Co.): ...giving the play a sort of Cinemascope look. Set designer Kim Tolman took full advantage of the horizonal with her slightly smaller-scale farm scene, which gave the actors a larger-than-life appearance.
– CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Oliver! (Douglas Morrisson Theatre): ...marvelous set by Kim A.Tolman...
– TRI CITY VOICE
Oliver! (Douglas Morrisson Theatre): One could visualize desperation from the set by designer Kim A. Tolman. From the strength of London Bridge to the dilapidated housing of the urchins...
– MILPITAS POST
Viaticum: The Carnal Table (Live Oak Theatre): On a set out of a Gothic fairytale (designed by Kim A. Tolman)—a crypt with a crazy rose window above, a hovering eye and the Mona Lisa with her face half covered by a hand as she gazes out over the audience, a chessboard below as flooring—Saul Strange (David Usner, himself a skydiver) writhes on his seeming deathbed, rigged with parachute lines, in an upbeat final agony, attended by his family with painted faces...
– BERKELEY DAILY PLANET
The Epic of Gilgamesh (Ashby Stage): The narrator, addressing the audience like a museum docent, literally pulls the veil from the archaic literary figure - seated statue-like at the summit of a pyramidal series of steps at the center of set designer Kim Tolman's clean, uncluttered gallery of ancient artifacts...
– SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN
La Bohème (Tacoma Opera): Winning over the audience, though, was Café Momus. After Rodolfo's rather prosaic apartment, the scenery in Act II justified applause: tall Parisian storefronts melding seamlessly into the backdrop, cool blue lighting bringing out shadows of wrought iron balconies.
– TACOMA NEWS TRIBUNE
La Bohème (Opera San José): The painterly sets by Kim A. Tolman are superb throughout but the second act gives us an 1840s Latin Quarter with wonderful fidelity and depth.
– OUT AND ABOUT MAGAZINE
La Bohème (Opera San José): ... an attractive storybook set in muted pastels...
– SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS
La Bohème (Opera San José): Kim Tolman's stage design aided by Michael Palumbo's lighting scheme capture perfectly the colors and the atmosphere of 19th century Paris.
– MILPITAS POST
The Gifts Of The Magi (Douglas Morrisson Theatre): Sponged earthy colors of the cityscape and three towering main buildings with their softly lighted windows created by Kim Tolman are lovely and perfectly suited for the story.
– TRI-CITY VOICE
Richard III (LupineEvent @ Project Artaud Theater): …this production has a large black-and-white picture of a hand holding a rose at center stage. It's a striking image full of violence and romance that's ideal for Shakespeare's great meditation on the seductive nature of evil. The rose is just part of Kim A. Tolman's masterful set, which places us in an abstract future and defines the author's themes in bold modern strokes.
– SF WEEKLY
Enchanted April (Douglas Morrisson Theatre): ...Act 2's idyllic Italian castle received 'wow' reviews from the audience the moment the curtained opened.
– INSIDE BAY AREA
The Women (Douglas Morrisson Theatre): Scenic Designer Kim Tolman returns to the Morrisson with what, I believe, is her most magnificent set yet. Done in the Art Deco Style, it captures the glamour and glitz of the 1930s perfectly.
– SAN LEANDRO TIMES
Breaking Legs (Douglas Morrisson Theatre): Special attention must be paid to the drop-dead authentic Italian restaurant set created by Kim Tolman. From the black-and-white diamond flooring to the paintings, religious icons, red-checkered tablecloths and tacky lights — it's all there. And Ms. Tolman went all out painting the angelic cherubs behind the bar. Another authentic touch: As the moon came up and the lights dimmed, the neon Graziano's Restaurant sign blinked on
– INSIDE BAY AREA
The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Town Hall Theatre): Town Hall has given the show a look of down-at-the-heels elegance, reflecting the moderately successful Royale. The set, by Kim Tolman, displays this attitude with a delightfully theatrical flair.
– CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Life with Father (Douglas Morrisson Theatre): Hayward's Douglas Morrisson Theatre presents a lovely production stuffed with sweet, comedic performances and topped off with a luscious set…Scene designer Kim Tolman creates an absolutely believable "morning room" of the Day home, with deep green walls studded with family photos, striking red draperies, a carved wooden fireplace and gorgeous antique furniture set around a massive staircase in the center of the stage.
– OAKLAND TRIBUNE
Snoopy!!! (Douglas Morrisson Theatre): Scenic designer Kim Tolman's work contributes in a big way to the show's success. With Snoopy's house center stage, set off by green cartoon trees (one has Woodstock's nest!) and movable blocks in primary colors, Tolman's bright cartoon setting pays delightful homage to its origin.
– TRI-VALLEY HERALD
Cobb’s Comedy Club (San Francisco): The new Cobb’s opened in November 2003 with a 770-person capacity club, a full bar, food service and an infectiously imaginative stage setting designed by theater veteran Kim Tolman.
– SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
The Secret Garden (Douglas Morrisson Theatre): Engle brings together some incredible talent in her latest directorial effort, including scenic designer Kim Tolman, whose magnificent sets transform the Hayward stage.
– DAILY REVIEW
Oklahoma! (Douglas Morrisson Theatre): ... The sets (Kim Tolman)... beautifully capture the vastness of the Oklahoma territory 100 years ago.
– SAN LEANDRO TIMES