Phaedra at Transcendent

Chicago Reader - Not Recommended

"...Here Maguire’s awful writing lends itself well to indulgent staging, which we receive in abundance via wall slapping and screaming–overblown actions in a small space where the audience’s skepticism isn't easily concealed."

ChicagoCritic - Recommended

"...The play’s biggest strength and weakness is Maguire’s poetry. His references to boardroom maneuvers and the health of a company are clumsy, and “keeping an eye on her” isn’t a good enough reason for Thomas to keep Aricia around, nor do I understand why anyone cares that William’s a bastard. We’re told she’s a financial genius, which is unbelievable, although what Maguire gets right is that the characters who grew up with money have a more natural air of nobility than the grubbing social climbers. He’s at his best when the characters describe their erotic dreams involving animals, which they interpret as symbolic of each other (the original Phaedra’s mother copulated with a bull). Faye in particular comes up with creative metaphors for how consumed she is by lust, though everyone else holds their own. The actors pour every crude passion into these speeches, which reverberate around Transcendent’s claustrophobic space. Along with deceptively simple use of lighting, usually just flipping a switch, the aural element of this play produces the anxiety appropriate for this story. Other scripts have tried for higher tragedy, but this Phaedra excels at horror."