Edith Can Shoot Things And Hit Them Reviews
Chicago Reader- Somewhat Recommended
"...In ideal children's literature, parents rarely appear, and they're never important when they do. A. Rey Pamatmat's 2011 play, presented by First Floor Theater, takes that principle to its limit: the stage is hermetically sealed against grown-ups. Instead we find ourselves alone in the remote countryside with headstrong, sanctimonious 12-year-old Edith; her teenage brother, Kenny; and Kenny's boyfriend, Benji. This careful setup, however, is to no avail when there are zero problems for the kids to solve (not to mention lots of clumsy foreshadowing)."
Windy City Times- Highly Recommended
"...Kevin Matthew Reyes and Luke Michael Grimes capture the romantic exuberance of innocents learning about sex from dictionaries and comic books ( leading to some serious onstage necking, but no nudity ), while Aurora Adachi-Winter's scowl nails perfectly the Artemesian bravado of virgin-warriors from Mulan to Malala Yousafzai. Whether this is youth-market material is up to the individual, but playgoers of all ages can certainly appreciate Pamatmat's refreshingly smart approach to his subject."
Time Out Chicago- Highly Recommended
"...First Floor Theater’s confident Chicago premiere benefits from a near ideal cast. Aurora Adachi-Winter’s wise-beyond-her-years Edith recalls precociously resourceful kid sisters from Ramona Quimby to Louise Belcher; she’s a spunky would-be heroine who’d likely hate to be called “spunky.” Kevin Matthew Reyes’s Kenny shows the strain in trying to hold everything and everyone together alongside his pride in managing to do so; he makes a confident foil for Luke Michael Grimes’s lovably gawky Benji, who somehow radiates exuberance and timidness at once."
Theatre By Numbers- Recommended
"...Author A. Rey Pamatmat has created a wonderfully rendered trio, so endearing that their lapses into dialog that can seem articulate and emotionally intelligent for small town teens, can be forgiven. Likewise, director Hutch Pimentel evokes a dark and sleepy small-town in a terrarium with his staging, and makes way for the real treasure of this production: Actors Reyes, Adachi-Winter and Grimes."
Chicago Stage and Screen- Recommended
"...Pamatmat addresses gay sexuality in a rural Midwest community in a way that captures the struggles without becoming an “issue” play. Director Hutch Pimentel created a strong rapport between the three actors, maintaining the humor and the pathos of Pamatmat’s script without teetering into sappy After-School Special melodrama. The love scenes between Benji and Kenny are sincere and passionate. There are moments when the writing becomes heavy-handed with numerous monologues about abandonment and self-reliance, but Pimentel keeps the characters engaging even through some of the wordiness. Overall, this is a show that hits its mark."
NewCity Chicago- Recommended
"...Things smooth out in Act Two as the adult world starts to close in on the trio—like the trap that it ultimately is. Nagging quibbles fall away and are replaced by genuine concern for the fates of these beautifully drawn characters. As Pamatmat has conceived of them they are complex, occasionally infuriating and willfully naïve, but they are also good. And not just fundamentally good but all-over actual good, a surprisingly rare quality that First Floor’s production embodies superbly.