Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...The young men share a beer-fueled middle-of-the-night conversation that's sometimes touching, sometimes thought provoking, and sometimes just plain tedious. Derek Garza (Mike) and Michael Manocchio (Seth) deliver honest, well-modulated performances under Adam Webster's emotionally detailed direction, but the confessional soul baring sometimes flounders under the weight of the characters' shallow self-absorption."
Northwest Indiana Times - Recommended
"...The connection and the chemistry between these two actors is real and resonates with the characters as portrayed. Questions of what makes a successful relationship and how to maintain lasting friendships are explored with the audience kept engaged."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...More than being a sincere reminder of the power of active friendship, Mike and Seth ultimately serves as a testament to the durability of familiarity as a comfort: best friends from high school, snowfall in winter, a slight play handsomely acted about two dudes arguing."
ShowBizChicago - Highly Recommended
"...This Jeff Recommended production (well deserved) is a must see for the two performances of Derek Garza and Michael Manocchio alone. It is a rare event to witness such honest acting on a Chicago stage where much of the time it is manufactured instead of felt. The time flies (always a good sign for a new work) and I was entertained, amused and moved by Talbott’s delightful script and the beautiful bromance between Mike & Seth."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...This is a smart, insightful, and riveting examination of a personal relationship featuring a gay-straight and privileged friends. We are totally engaged and impressed by the raw honesty and chemistry exhibited by Derek Garza and Michael Manocchio as Mike and Seth. The set (designed by Adam Webster) and the blocking/staging by director Adam Webster add depth and openness to our vicarious interloping into Mike and Seth's banter. This experience is a most enjoyable and engrossing theatrical experience. Mike and Seth is one of the best plays of 2014 - don't miss it!"
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...Daniel Talbott’s Mike and Seth is not the first play in which two characters are trapped together by dastardly weather. But it is a lively variation that is astutely mounted at the side project, and thus makes for a satisfying experience."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Adam Webster’s direction ensures that the stories of conquests and frequent physical intimacies shared by the characters never go beyond signs of deep platonic affection. The tension, circumstance, nostalgia, and powerful emotions of the characters can be quite heavy, but this is relieved by a generous dispersion of jokes which are very funny even if they occasionally involve coarse language and graphic descriptions of sex acts. Consequently, this play, which might be called an emotional tragicomedy, will please a variety of theatre-going tastes: those who like to think, who like to laugh, who like to uplifted, and who like to weep for there is ample terror, beauty, and love."
Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended
"...Webster’s production simply stands out as one of those slice-of- life dramas during which two people open their hearts, share their feelings, explore their options and end up stronger in the end, due to their relationship. As a wise man once said: “Friendship isn’t about whom you’ve known the longest…it’s about who came and never left your side.” Because of this tiny theatrical space’s intimacy, the audience feels as if they’ve just shared the evening with two friends and never left their sides."
Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended
"...In the end, we like Mike and Seth because we like …Mike and Seth."
Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended
"...The side project theatre company closes its fourteenth season with Mike and Seth, the story of two childhood friends who share a hotel room the night before one of them gets married. This thought-provoking contemporary work is not to be missed."
