A Yale Theatre graduate double majoring with Film Directing, Burton's love of theatre runs deep, and she continues to direct for the stage.
With Ursula Burton, she produced the long running Los Angeles premiere of "A... My Name is Alice," which played at the Mark Taper's Itchy Foot Cabaret after The Gardenia Lounge with its long run originating in The Complex on L.A.'s Santa Monica Blvd Theater Row.
Burton directed Leslie Caveny's One Woman Gone Wrong at Theatre West to great reviews:
Everything a one woman show should be; WITTY HILARIOUS and SINCERELY FUNNY…Leslie Caveny is INESCAPABLY RIVETING … IT IS IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO LOVE THIS SHOW…another SMASH HIT!” - Los Angeles Post Examiner
"Under Maria Burton’s excellent direction there’s enough quibbling onstage to satisfy any normal curmudgeon." - Santa Monica Daily Press
"Maria Burton’s spirited direction and the show’s moving conclusion proves that farce and reality are deeply entwined." - Indulge Magazine
“MADCAP… Leslie Caveny pulls out all the stops.... captured throughout by Maria Burton's artful direction. ” Theatre Spoken Here
“Caveny had the capacity opening night audience in HYSTERICS throughout her 75-minute deconstruction of the solo show genre…Caveny’s writing, besides being VERY FUNNY, is also very insightful and filled with everyday observations and truths. Caveny’s acting perfectly brings out the humor and pathos in the script. It’s difficult to write a detailed review of such a show without giving away all the best bits and ruining the laughs for future audiences, so I’ll just STRONGLY ADVISE YOU TO SEE ONE WOMAN GONE WRONG for yourself. You won’t go wrong.” - Rob Stevens
"Directed by Maria Burton, who again, I don’t want to spoil it for you, does an incredible job of making the reality of the world you enter – Leslie’s world – seem, well so darn hysterical!" - The Geek Authority
“Maria Burton directs a show that gives Leslie Caveny all of the time and space to become that WOMAN ON THE EDGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN… …A RIP ROARIN’ TRAIN WRECK!” - Accessibly Live Off Line
“You will laugh, you may cry, and you may even sing and dance…YOU WILL ENJOY EVERY MOMENT of this HILARIOUS (almost) one-woman show turned trainwreck” - Discover Hollywood
“If you have the stamina to laugh for a little over an hour without stopping, then make your way to Theatre West and plonk your money down for Leslie Caveny's absolutely brilliant "One Woman Gone Wrong." - NoHo Arts District