Paper City Phoenix presented by Tympanic Theatre Company at Profiles Theatre - The Alley Stage

Chicago Reader - Not Recommended

"...Walt McGough's dark comedy is so convoluted and filled with quirks that not even the threat of world destruction can give it any weight. Likewise, Rebecca Willingham's production for Tympanic Theatre launches into out-of-this-world silliness, then belatedly asks to be taken seriously."

ChicagoCritic - Not Recommended

"...With the players screaming and foul-mouthed dialogue, plus many black-outs for set changes and weird visuals and strobe lighting, the confusing plot just rambles on toward a sort of redemptive ending that finds the Internet girl being transformed back to a human after sacrificing her soul mate to save the world. Of course, by that time I had become anxious for this convoluted work to end after it self-destructed early on. The acting was amateurish and the production values were ahead of the script and the character development. With so many stage worthy plays available, I wonder why Tympanic Theatre would mount such a dud?"

Around The Town Chicago - Recommended

"....Paper City Phoenix begins on top of a cellular tower, which a young woman, Brenna, has chosen as the perfect location for her epic suicide after being deserted by her online soul mate. She is making a video to broadcast on the internet, and as she is explaining her rationale to her audience, the tower is struck by lightning and she blacks out. So begins a sci-fi dark comedy that brings six people into end-of-world relationships with each other and the internet itself."

Chicago Theater Beat - Not Recommended

"...Absolutely nothing makes sense after the second act starts. It was hard to focus over the constant mental hum of “But wait, if that’s true, why is that still? If they are, how is…??” Trying to inject some kind of commentary on the nature of human connection only makes it worse."