Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...Despite these reservations, Andrew Volkoff's handsome production has much to recommend it, especially in the nuanced give-and-take between Sphar and Tejero, from good-natured teasing to spiky anger. Pamatmat's compassionate viewpoint on these characters provides a welcome balance to the occasionally self-conscious dialogue. And if nothing else, "After All the Terrible Things I Do" will almost certainly make you want to read — or re-read — O'Hara. Which isn't terrible at all."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Pamatmat's old-school devices-a careful doling out of information, a red herring or two-offset the sense that he's out to lecture us on the subject of homophobic bullying, while improving our chances of taking an interest in the characters despite their occasional schematism. It also helps that Andrew Volkoff's staging for About Face Theatre offers dynamic performances by Colin Sphar as a young, gay writer with a big secret and Lisa Tejero as an aging bookseller with one of her own."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...Sphar and Tejero play big under director Andrew Volkoff and tear into this chewy material, powering through the play's coincidences. Tejero channels every dragon lady role she's played into stiletto-sharp attack, always cagey and sometimes ferocious. Sphar, superficially a blander character, parries each thrust and rises to Tejero's considerable energy level. They comfortably inhabit Chelsea M. Warren's cozy, perfect bookstore set."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Pamatmat unveils surprising connections between the two as they open up to one another over the course of several weeks (though we can see some of the reveals coming before the characters do). Sphar charms and convinces as the tightly wound Daniel, whose relationship with his own sexuality clearly is more complicated than he presents; Tejero is wonderfully detailed as her drawing out of Daniel's story touches raw nerves of her own. Staged by About Face artistic director Andrew Volkoff on Chelsea M. Warren's cozy bookstore set, after all the terrible things i do, like O'Hara's "Poem," is a quietly evocative consideration of forgiveness."
ShowBizChicago - Highly Recommended
"...I highly recommend this beautiful, engaging performance. If history tells us what happened, it is shows like this that tell us why."
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...Plays where people are good to and for each other are rare–and therapeutic for more than the characters. Pamatmat’s thinking/feeling work confirms what we forget at our peril—that books are powerful means to earnest ends."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...Even with better-informed parents, greater efforts by schools to combat bullying, and more self-awareness among gay youth, the sort of confusion on multiple fronts which Daniel and Linda wrestle with is still prevalent, and the kind that people are often still afraid to discuss openly. After all the terrible things I do provides an opportunity to acknowledge dark secrets and regrets many people share, and is a highly rewarding drama."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...Both Colin and Lisa filled the stage with their personalities and compelled the audience along with them on their journeys. Each was able to fill the silences that the script presented them and made the audience want to hang on their every word. From laughter to crying this play will make you think and reevaluate some of your relationships within your own family or close friends."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"... About Face Theatre is on a roll. They just enjoyed great success with “Le Switch”, a World Premiere,and are now presenting a Chicago Premiere, “after all the terrible things I do” a startling two person story that takes us down the paths for two individuals who seek both a second chance and forgiveness for the deeds they have done. This one-hour-forty-minutes of solid drama tells us the story of Daniel (deftly handled by Colin Sphar), who comes back to the town he grew up in to find himself, work on his novel, and get his opportunity for a second chance in life."
Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended
"...Director Andrew Volkoff shapes all the terrible things i do into a compelling, provocative evening of theater. The production looks fantastic: Set designer Chelsea Warren’s bookstore is so enticing and detailed you’ll want to hang around after the curtain call to browse. Jared Gooding’s light design reinforces the shifting moods and increasing menace that propels the plot."
Third Coast Review - Recommended
"...About Face Theatre’s Chicago premiere of playwright A. Rey Pamatmat’s after all the terrible things I do delivers on the company’s promise to produce plays that “advance the national dialogue on sexual and gender identity.” Pamatmat’s work, exploring themes of forgiveness, gender roles and second chances, offers up a host of compelling questions that actors Lisa Tejero and Colin Sphar, led by AFT Artistic Director, Andrew Volkoff, dig into with commitment and honesty. As a result of their combined efforts, after all the terrible things I do is a highly polished and authentic two-hander brimming with humor, mystery and drama."
NewCity Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...On the whole, Pamatmat's explanations for his characters' behavior are either buried deep within minuscule detail or not present at all, which might as well be the same thing. The play concludes by offering a heartfelt but empty resolution to Daniel and Linda's mutual grievances. Despite all the words they exchange, neither seems to have learned much of anything about the other."