Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...McSweeny's production is dynamic, visually imaginative and never dull for so much as a second, and it does have its moments of enlightenment (Mikhail Fiksel and Miles Polaski's sound design is a sensual feast). But ultimately, neither the staging nor the performances seem to feel enough nor need enough, nor do they seem sufficiently willing to go on a clear journey together. Therefore, this first production captures only half of Bradshaw's worldview - the cold, shell-shocked, anonymous-coupling, do-what-you-gotta part, but not the aching human need for actual, functional congress, which is a theme of all the Bradshaw plays I have seen."
Chicago Sun Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...The actors here are caught in a trap. The play wants them to be "realistic" on the surface, but only to a point, for more often than not everything flips into the absurd, the obvious and the grossly exaggerated. To their credit, Moore and Barlow give it all they've got, and then some. Maybe we are just meant to laugh at it all, and agree that "people" are the problem. Or maybe Bradshaw is just plying us with sex-race-and status porn, and getting himself declared an important transgressive artist in the bargain. Your call."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Whatever Bradshaw's inspirations may be, his script suffers an indifferent staging by Ethan McSweeny at American Theater Company—the Chicago half of a world premiere copresented with New York's the Flea. There's a lot of comedy in Fulfillment, especially with regard to Michael's floor-stomping upstairs neighbor, but McSweeny never figures out how to integrate it into the rest of the show."
Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...This is a play in which the author refuses to tip his hand. Michael’s many failings seem to be much of his own making, but then you can’t help but feel that the game he’s playing is rigged. He might be an alcoholic, but the firm still uses him as their token black guy. He might have a temper, but his neighbor’s is worse. Sarah might be the best thing that happened to him, or the worst. Bradshaw doesn’t give us answers, but his play’s questions—unlike its sex—fail to provoke much of anything."
Theatre By Numbers - Somewhat Recommended
"...All in all, "Fulfillment" may be missing something at the core of its' identity. Is it an examination of race in the corporate sphere? A biting take on the shallow successes we chase? A platform for raunchy jokes, nudity, and hollow edginess? I hope that Thomas Bradshaw can clear away the brush and find the gems in his promising story."
ChicagoCritic - Not Recommended
"...I'll not reveal more except to say that Michael's future is in doubt as he pays a price for his actions. His friends acknowledge that somehow he'll survive. But by that time, I couldn't care less. Bradshaw's characters are such neutral folks that we never care much for them. The play is based on reality, yet the situations are so preposterous that I wonder if Bradshaw is really going for an absurdist style. In any case, Fulfillment is 90 minutes of drama about unlikable characters doing some unmotivated things with graphic sexual scenes that serve no purpose except to titillate audiences. This unsettling work begs the question: who is the audience for this play? Again, I scratch my head for an answer."
The Fourth Walsh - Recommended
"...For a play that seems engineered to shock, its deadpan humor also startles and keeps the audience nicely off-balance. Good example: Jeff Trainor's hilarious portrayal of Leonard, a self-help guru who teaches yoga poses while admonishing his followers for sins including "gorging ourselves on food and pornography.""
