Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...Both Simpkins and McClain excel at capturing the walking-on-eggshells nature of a live-in relationship that is reaching a breaking point, held together with denial and (mostly) polite evasions that turn into wounding recriminations. Simpkins' cool, contained exterior shows cracks early on, suggesting that being the responsible one in a family she holds at arm's length has taken a psychic toll."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...That pivotal contrivance compromises Cocked when it starts to turn dark, but until then the show is lots of fun. A cross between Ellen DeGeneres and the sitcom-era Dick Van Dyke, Kelli Simpkins makes a fine, exasperating Taylor. Mike Tepeli's Frank is appropriately ambivalence free. But the shortcomings of the script fall most heavily on Patrese D. McClain, who comes off as precisely half of a plausible Izzy."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...Director Joanie Schultz manages the action smartly as things literally deteriorate, and her three actors offer committed performances. It's great to see Tepeli, after a string of terrific storefront performances, getting a meaty role on a larger stage. But Gubbins's plotting relies too much on a jumble of unlikely situations and actions. It's quickly understandable why Taylor wants Frank gone; her repeated capitulation, and Izzie's continuing belief in his good intentions as his acts become ever more erratic is harder to swallow. And that the underpinnings of Frank's mania are never addressed feels like a matter of convenience. Cocked is an entertaining enough conversation starter, but dramaturgically, it's half-cocked."
Stage and Cinema - Not Recommended
"...Cocked comes nowhere near to addressing the real crisis of innocent people mowed down by available guns-or, contrariwise, courageous citizens repelling armies of thugs that cops supposedly can't handle and who right now are lurking outside our apartments in corridors crowded with criminals. (Choose your adventure.) Better no play on the subject that this condescending and meretricious intelligence-insulter."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended
"...The politics weigh the play and this production down. Tackling that aspect was a challenge that was unable to be met by anyone in the production. But that's only one third of the play. The other two were conquered in a huge way and Gubbins' incredibly funny and natural dialogue felt at home in Schultz's production. I will say this for Gubbins' play: Even if the politics didn't land well, her story landed well enough to make you think and enough to make you look around a bit differently when you leave the theatre."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Secrets and lies, the need to belong, to be loved and to be safe and secure are all at the heart of this domestic drama. There’s also some heated debate about gun possession and control that rings true, especially in a city that continues to have its share of shootings and killings. This unique thriller that ramps up from goofiness to life-threatening tension in 90 minutes of unforgettable drama that audiences won’t soon forget."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...Director Joanie Schultz and her three-member ensemble deserve the highest marks for keeping the storyline on the rails as the playwright shifts gears from personal tensions between Izzie and Taylor to the gun arguments to accounts of family dysfunction. The final scenes kick in to a tsunami of suspense and frenzy, Schultz beautifully orchestrating the overpowering tension of the ending scene."
Third Coast Review - Highly Recommended
"...There are poignant moments, when lovers trust one another instead of squabbling, and brother and sister reach a truce-opening up about their shattered love lives. But those moments are all swept up in the maelstrom of the plot events as small actions and weaknesses lead to bigger problems. Debates over right and wrong, over safety, over values versus reality, they all crumble when Frank's continually backfiring attempts to help accumulate to the point of horrifying danger."
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Under the airtight direction of Joanie Schultz and with praiseworthy performances from the entire cast, Gubbins masterfully uses simplicity to make us question the side we thought we so confidently stood."
