HoliDAZE presented by Step Up Productions at Athenaeum Theatre

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...This collection of Christmas-themed one-acts from Step Up Productions kicks off with its best offering, followed immediately by its worst. The former is Steven Simoncic's funny-sad The Space Behind Your Heart, in which two wounded souls who met via ChristianMingle.com (sensitively played by Andy Luther and Amanda Dahl Powell) have their first date on Christmas Eve. Then comes Tate A. Geborkoff's And the Snow Came Down, a clunky, cliched, and awkwardly acted sketch about a gay guy clashing with his soon-to-be mother-in-law at a boozy holiday party. Each of the three remaining playlets-by Nambi E. Kelley, Joshua Rollins, and Lisa Dillman-starts out strong but trails off without leading anywhere."

Windy City Times - Recommended

"...Whether these characters pique your interest will likely depend on your own approach to Christmas ( sentiments regarding family obligations or romantic imperatives, for example ), but the professional expertise brought to this anthology by the 13 actors and five directors is undeniable. Gina Taliafero and Nadirah Bost portray a memorable pair of feisty matriarchs ( the latter of whom departs this temporal world following a last meal of her favorite forbidden foods-you go, girl! ), while Andy Luther and Amanda Dahl Powell deftly evade the stereotypes associated with faith-based matchmaker services to lend their blind date dynamic a kindness and sensitivity rarely seen in scenarios of this genre, spurring us ( me, anyway ) to wonder how their story turned out."

Centerstage - Somewhat Recommended

"...Holidaze is rarely surprising or inspired. The best that can be said about it is that it’s solid and competent as a whole. While that may be faint praise, it’s a lot better than shows that AREN’T solid and competent."

Time Out Chicago - Recommended

"...Short play collections like these can often be grab-bags, and Step Up's is no different. The plays are pretty solid overall, delivered with consistently polished production and brought to life by some fine performers. The variety makes it likely you will find something you'll enjoy, but none of the plays quite transcend their holiday-themed status. "

Stage and Cinema - Recommended

"...Striking a comfortable balance between sticky and sentimental, schmaltz and cynicism, five short plays by as many Chicago writers (and directed by another skilled quintet) combine to create the rightly named HoliDaze. Happily, none of these furtive glimpses of the holiday season’s well-chronicled underside, most set on Christmas Eve, outstays its welcome. A few actually suggest new ways to look at a very old subject."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended

"...HoliDaze, an evening of one-acts produced by Step Up Productions, is like that box. It has some sweets, but the couple of jellies in the mix of five plays make the evening – despite some huge laughs – enjoyable, but a bit uncertain."