Matryoshka presented by The Plagiarists at Red Tape Theatre - St. Peter's Episcopal Church

Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended

"...But then it goes on, and on, and on, until the whole thing feels like an endless exercise in playwriting-by-pop-cultural Mad Libs. The cast does a decent job shifting between stylistic tones and various characters, but they can't overcome the grating sense that this is less a piece about the power of storytelling and more about a writer determined to show off some smarty-pants cross-hybridization."

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...The stories, which borrow from urban legends and genre fiction, are smart, funny, and captivating-but never so polished that their thread of desperation disappears entirely. Jack Dugan Carpenter directs a mesmerizing cast."

Centerstage - Somewhat Recommended

"...Late in the game, “Matryoshka’ name drops Italo Calvino, the Italian author and folklore magpie. Calvino drew from sources high and low, mixing ancient myth with contemporary culture to create worlds that were timeless and unique. “Matryoshka,” which was written by Plagiarists Artistic Director Gregory Peters and directed by Jack Dugan Carpenter, bares only a superficial resemblance to his works. It takes pop culture clichés and fails to elevate them, functioning more like a series of sketches than a cohesive show. Luckily, they have a game group of actresses who manage to create an enjoyable evening of entertainment."

Time Out Chicago - Not Recommended

"...Peters’s script, which falls somewhere between bad sketch comedy and a college playwriting assignment, is referred to in press materials as a “manic gumbo.” Translation: It’s a random collection of stories that have no connection and little entertainment value, all staged by Jack Dugan Carpenter in the same exaggerated style. Like the Russian nesting dolls that give the play its name, Matryoshka offers diminishing returns with each new story."

ChicagoCritic - Somewhat Recommended

"...MATRYOSHKA is the sort of playful fare that might work exceptionally well with thirty to forty minutes trimmed off its tail end. Perhaps as a one-act in a Fringe Festival. Yet whatever commentary it thinks it's making about misogyny and media violence feels flattened by a narrative structure that never builds and never resolves. In the end, it seems odd that a piece so driven by a winking self-awareness of cultural forms never quite becomes aware of its own."