Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...In essence, Strafford walks out onstage, onto a set designed to look like a real apartment, and tells us he is about to impart a true story. I mostly took him at his word there, and a quick search of some names and places from the 1990s (I was at some of the shows he references) did not turn up any inconsistencies. With a level of detail that might make some uncomfortable - when we got to the feral cats and the dirty needles, I felt real recoil - he recounts his misadventures in Lake Shore Drive high-rises and on Halsted Street. Between the narratives - which also serve as a reminder of how much things have changed in gay Chicago - he sings a few songs, quite beautifully. Those aren't the only interludes. At other points, Strafford morphs into a kind of dark game-show host, quizzing the audience on crystal meth. In still others, the show switches to an unforgiving downlight as we watch Strafford shoot up, and he seems to age 20 years or more before our eyes."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...As a by-the-numbers cautionary tale it squeaks by on cheekiness, but as theater it rings hollow. Strafford's a relentlessly mannered performer; every gesture and glance feels calculated to achieve an effect—even when the effect is to appear unaffected—so his 90-minute life story becomes oddly impersonal. His hasty, suddenly earnest finale about his recovery comes across as pure self-congratulation. Adam Fitzgerald's unsubtle direction telegraphs exactly how we should feel about each moment in the story."
Windy City Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...Since some of us today probably have known people who are substance abusers, much of Strafford's story is neither new nor unique: the euphoric high, the sensuality, the denial, episodes of violence, the lying, the denial, the thievery, the near ( or actual ) prostitution, the psychotic breaks, the denial. Even so, few of us have lived with a meth-dealer lover, as Strafford did, and most snorters don't progress to shooting up, as Strafford did. This boy was in deep."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...What makes Strafford's narrative so compelling is that it's more than a laudable story of recovery; it's a time capsule of a huge part of the gay experience. Director Adam Fitzgerald and About Face Theatre harken back to a near-distant period in the city before name-dropping Grindr and being an out-and-proud gay was mainstream. We hear about a time when homosexuality was pushed to the back pages of the Chicago Reader, when being your gay self was somehow a radical decision. For Strafford, that meant a time of pioneering highs and sacrificial lows. He learned, and survived the trip. For younger gay generations especially, it's a story of a journey worth hearing."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"...Don’t worry. Methacular! is not a Debbie Downer and the exclamation point is well deserved. Sweetly smiling, geekily graceful, or impishly ingratiating, Strafford puts the performer over the victim. His adrenaline-surging stage style easily matches the giddy gallop of dancing with a disease. The audience gets a natural high from Strafford’s artificial alertness. When he comes down to earth, we’re there with him and for him."
ChicagoCritic - Somewhat Recommended
"...Why Steven Strafford doesn't demonstrate the devastating lows of meth addiction stronger so that the above guy in the audience sees clear how dangerous meth can be is a mystery? Maybe the fact that Strafford is on stage doing a show is proof that meth isn't so bad? And, I suspect since Strafford is so entertaining and funny, that he can't help but send the wrong message. Since meth addiction is so prevalent in the gay community, a show that speaks to the joys and inhibitions of crystal meth usage in such a fun way can backfire. I think this show is dangerous since Strafford spends too little time depicting the lows of his addiction. Then maybe that's material for another show?"
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"...Overall, "Methacular," although not as affecting as it might be, is an entertaining night, and we walk way admiring Steven Stafford's talent, honesty, warmth, and courage. We feel privileged that he would share with us the story of his dejection and recovery, and we are happy that he has overcome his addiction and is leading a happy, successful, life, and at that for one night we get to be a part of it."
