Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...Director Joshua Aaron Weinstein's production is careful and truthful enough to really catch this crucial tension. This is not a flashy show, but Mary Williamson, who plays the daughter, shows us a lot of fear in her eyes, and Ed Dzialo, who plays the emotionally slippery son, comes up with quite the moving picture of a man who prefers to walk away rather than get involved in the strangeness of human decisions. Janice O'Neill's mom character stays more in the familiar, but she still surprises in places."
Chicago Reader - Recommended
"...It's impossible to find the line between mom-crazy and crazy-crazy in Janice O'Neill's exquisite portrayal, and as her two children, Ed Dzialo and Mary Williamson are stunning too. Joshua Weinstein directed this unmissable production for LiveWire Chicago Theater; despite having a loose end here and there, Samuel D. Hunter's 2011 script has an emotional sweep and subtle intelligence that propel every scene toward the shocking, inexorable conclusion."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...Unlike his later play, The Whale (opening at Victory Gardens on April 15), the dialogue engendered by Hunter's eccentric premise remains secular, with no mention of the theological ramifications of stealing a jump on the Grim Reaper. Director Joshua Aaron Weinstein and an ensemble of actors so closely attuned to one another that they actually seem the product of a single household likewise refuse to wallow in bathos or condescension, but instead present their arguments with an articulate dignity that commands our respect, if not our unmitigated approval."
Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...In Joshua Aaron Weinstein's production for LiveWire Chicago, young adult siblings Ally and Bo (Mary Williamson and Ed Dzialo) arrive home to bury their recently deceased father (Jack McCabe). More buzzed than usual, mother Carol (Janice O'Neill) doesn't seem to be coping well, showing such eerie signs of instability as haphazardly painting her home-including all of her possessions-solid white. Both marijuana joints and old domestic fuses get lit as the haplessly bound trio launches into shrill accusations, non-sequitur subplot and addiction jokes at mom's expense. The parents' discussions of mortality are present, but their kooky theories would be more believable coming out of their kids' mouths than from fulfilled adults who make the radical choice to gracefully bow out of life on their own terms."
ShowBizChicago - Recommended
"...The acting in the production was excellent from all characters and O'Neill did a great job balancing Carol as a women who seems to be losing her sanity to her children, but maybe gaining control of her life for the first time. While a few aspects of the story left me with questions, there was no question that LiveWire makes the most of Hunter's unique script and delivers a great performance."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...Playwright Samuel D. Hunter has penned a provocative drama in A Permanent Image that has a fresh take on how some cope upon realization of just how small their lives really are in the big picture. This well paced and nicely acted work will surly get you thinking and it will spur lively debate. I was particularly impressed with the performance of Janice O'Neill as the wacky mother. This drama is engaging, often funny, and the end is shockingly powerful. This is not your average dysfunctional drama but it is worth a look."
Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended
"...A Permanent Image is a lot more than your typical family drama. Sure, there are the obligatory big secrets and family snapshots designed to make your family seem ever the bit more tolerable. But A Permanent Image also serves up a healthy dose of absurd post-modern existential angst. Not enough for the show to be "artsy" (and by artsy I mean an unbearable metaphor), but just enough to leave you with more questions than you came with. Where other shows are content to bring you to the funeral, this one grapples with the ultimate ramifications of string theory. And what is the logical conclusion reached when ultimately we all are just one bit of cosmic dust let loose by the big bang?"
