Chicago Tribune
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Even the great Chicago actress Mary Ann Thebus, who plays Kron's mother, a role originated by Jane Houdyshell, is a strangely remote and sedentary presence. In many ways, this character is the key to the play—the actors fall in love with her and want to protect her from her roving writer-daughter, and we need to share that emotion. In this case, it's just hard to see this character as the dramatic lifeblood. She doesn't show much emotion. She doesn't connect with the rest of the show. And nobody seems to be taking sufficient risks."
Chicago Sun Times
- Highly Recommended
"...Kron's play is receiving a terrific Chicago area debut at Evanston's Next Theatre, where director Damon Kiely has tapped the talents of Mary Ann Thebus and Lia D. Mortensen, two extraordinary actresses whose characters must collaborate on tearing down the fourth wall (that imaginary barrier between the stage and audience), fighting for their particular versions of the truth, and engaging in the kind of painful love-hate psychological warfare that seems encoded in mother-daughter DNA."
Pioneer Press
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Kron makes plenty of sharp, incisive observations about adult children, their relationships with their parents and the enduring scars of grade school cruelties. Next's cast is smart and capable. But there's no getting around the fact that "Well" could be considered the theatrical equivalent of Brussels sprouts. Good for you, but tempting to pass on."
Windy City Times
- Somewhat Recommended
"...the problem is that Kron's acting company ( particularly her sleepy mother in a La-Z-Boy recliner ) hijack her attempts to tell the story—going so far as to question the play's haphazard structure and information gaps."
Copley News Service
- Highly Recommended
"...Director Damon Kiely deftly orchestrates all the clashing moods and styles, keeping the action coherent, fluent, and often funny. Set designer Jack Magaw divides the stage into a highly detailed living room on the left occupied by the mother and her recliner, and a basically open stage filled at various times by large props moved on and off stage by the actors."
Centerstage
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Often frustrating, even anxiety-provoking, "Well" dances continuously with failure, revealing theater’s strengths and weaknesses as Kron lays bare her own. Although lopsided and troublesome, the piece not only boasts humor and insight, but a steadfast cast willing to push through caricature to find truth on the other side. Kron approaches her play like an uneasy painter, self-deprecatorily explaining away her painting’s every flaw. This self-conscious undercutting will disconcert purists, as will the fact that while some ideas never come to fruition, others are driven heavy-handedly home."
Edge
- Recommended
"...Well seems to derive from the Brechtian theatrical style where the mechanics of producing a play are visible to the audience, and where the conventions of storytelling -- a cogent theme, a discernable beginning, middle, and end -- are stripped away one after another. It’s complicated. But it works."
Chicago Stage Review
- Highly Recommended
"...The real healing power of Next Theatre’s excellent production is the magnificent performance of Mary Ann Thebus. She is a genius at naturally charming the socks off of everyone involved, on and off stage, while simultaneously rendering the reality of the play to picture perfection with deceptively sharp wit."
Time Out Chicago
- Recommended
"...Kron’s exploration of convention-cracking metatheater is unexpectedly successful. Unlike many solo confessional-style performers, Kron has enough healthy distance from her story to make herself an increasingly unlikable character."
ChicagoCritic
- Recommended
"...What ultimately makes this show definitely worth seeing is the sensitive portrayal by two fine actresses of the evolving mutual understanding of mother-daughter. Thebus delivers a masterful performance in the juicier role, but it is really the interaction between the two that makes Well work. Well has escaped mushy Oprah show clichés and provides insight that is worth a look."
