Daily Herald
- Recommended
"...Overall though, this play's a winner. Kays has crafted some lovely moments (the way she suggests starlight is simply dreamy) as well as some highly comic ones. The charmingly goofy water ballet, choreographed by M.K. Victorson and performed by Kays' maniacally grinning and very able quintet, is just delightful."
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...It's a testament to Sharon Greene's piece about her camping trip to Lake Powell--and to Halena Kays's tight ensemble--that the decision to stage it in and around the Welles Park pool never seems gimmicky. Rather, the setting underscores the fact that although Greene and her friends went there to enjoy nature, Lake Powell is man-made--a gigantic swimming pool."
Windy City Times
- Highly Recommended
"...Taken by itself, Fake Lake might have been a tidy little vacation-memoir seasoned with a smidgen of social consciousness. But what elevates this Neo-Futurists production is its staging under the direction of Halena Kays in the Welles Park swimming pool, where the five-person ensemble takes every advantage of their aquatic site in the presentation of their story: we get dazzling surface-acrobatic stunts, sexy water ballets and romantic candlelit idylls on a flotation raft the size of a conversation pit, all performed by smiling synchronized-swimmers as supple as otters."
Chicago Free Press
- Highly Recommended
"...Happily, “Fake Lake” also boasts a literate, autobiographical script by company member Sharon Greene, honed to precision despite its technical challenges by Halena Kays (who also directed the company’s triumphant “Daredevils” two years ago). While many Neo shows are written collaboratively, often leading to a disjointed smorgasbord of sketches in service of a single theme, “Lake” maintains focus and a singular story arc as it develops a cast of characters."
Gay Chicago Magazine
- Highly Recommended
"...More than just a site-specific spectacle, performed at an actual public swimming pool, this is a brilliant piece of stylized storytelling infused with the extraordinary dialogues, monologues and creative visualizations that have made the Neo-Futurists one of the most uniquely remarkable theater companies in Chicago. It also displays the best synchronized swimming of any experimental play in town!"
Centerstage
- Highly Recommended
"...The production is infused with the same sly, mildly self-satisfied intelligence and fun audience participation that characterizes the Neo-Futurists' flagship piece, "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind." This is very much to "Fake Lake's" benefit, as it keeps it from becoming too preachy. Fans of "Too Much Light" will probably find much to like here, unless they like it for the jumping up and down, which this nimbly replaces with swimming."
Edge
- Highly Recommended
"...Humans, the author argues, were at the time like stupid college kids -- conquering their immediate surroundings without care for the future to come. With "Fake Lake," the playwright succeeds in fusing entertainment, education, and political statement while making excellent use of an edgy venue. Hopefully, Chicago audiences will be seeing Greene for many seasons to come."
Time Out Chicago
- Recommended
"...The meta-theater aesthetic of the Neo-Futurists’ prime time shows can sometimes feel rote, but in lifting it out of the Neo-Futurarium and dunking it in the pool, Greene and Kays break new ground. Unlike other waterlogged plays we’ve seen, the setting doesn’t feel like a gimmick so much as a natural element of the storytelling; the aquatic drag itself tends to relax the pace in a way that’s as effective as it is affecting."
