Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...Grimm and Fitzgerald, fine Chicago actors both, find the vulnerable core of their characters. Fitzgerald shows us a lot of her character’s inner pain, and any guy with a sense of his own line of bull will recognize the truth of Grimm’s work. Rex struggles more to suggest the complexity of her character. She’s not ideally cast here, but she’s a truthful young actress. Director Karen Kessler doesn’t fully catch all the work’s visceral nature, but creates a strong sense of place—and of a trio of the trapped."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...These three are amusingly pathetic for the first half of Abbie Spallen's play, as they take turns delivering short monologues about their lives and relationships in some miserable little population pocket on the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. But the shit hits the fan in act two, things get grim fast, and a terrible beauty is supposed to be born. It isn't, though. Director Karen Kessler can't quite make Spallen's fools-transfigured scenario work convincingly, despite engaging performances from Larry Grimm and Kirsten Fitzgerald."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...Spallen manipulates her language with virtuoso dexterity, however, conjuring images of startling acuity. (Olfactory descriptions are especially graphic—odors of automotive products, poultry yards, stale beer and greasy takeout food.) And director Karen Kessler has her trio of tightly focused ensemble players engage in more movement than a monologue text requires, keeping us both intellectually and physically alert to the sordid tale of commonplace tragedy unfolding before us."
Chicago Free Press - Recommended
"...As pumpgirl, Grace Rex shines with a coal black wit and sense of purpled hurt while Lawrence Grimm’s Hammy is a philandering man-child whose moral grayness hits a brick wall. Grimm shows the true heart and sorrow behind what at first appears to be an unrepentant cad. It is Kirsten Fitzgerald as the neglected Sinead whom is the show’s powerhouse though. With humor and lived in grace, Fitzgerald creates a character of complex triumph—proving to all why Spallen is considered one of Ireland’s current shining literary lights."
Centerstage - Highly Recommended
"...Dubbed a "comic play" in its press, "Pumpgirl" is peppered with humor and irreverence but, as with its setting, lies in a border region—between comedy, drama and tragedy, often zigzagging across all within minutes. If it were a real train wreck, you'd be tempted to phone in sick to keep watching."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...Pumpgirl’s direct-address format requires an intimate connection between actors and audience; Spallen’s play wouldn’t work across the divide of a proscenium, and director Kessler uses A Red Orchid’s claustrophobic space as effectively as we’ve seen. While each cast member displays admirable subtlety, Fitzgerald’s Sinead is the unlikely anchor. The actor crafts a fully formed life from Spallen’s snippets and never lets us see the seams."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...This engaging dark comedy has an unsentimental twist, raw sensuality with a convincing honesty that packs an emotional punch. Kirsten Fitzgerald and Lawrence Grimm are outstanding. Grace Rex exudes a girlish charm and once show speaks louder and slows down her speech, she’ll be even better. Pumpgirl is a stark realistic look at how love is sometime blind and how often are lives filled with misery that makes us desperate to find purpose and meaning in our lives. Spallen’s talent abounds with her droll humor and splendid language. This is enticing monologue-driven storytelling in the finest Irish tradition."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended
"...Director Karen Kessler uses the small stage to perfection. The set by Matthew Gawryk (who also designed the lighting) has three areas onstage and a back drop composed of what might be a service station on one wall and a trophy showcase on the other. We are drawn to the three areas as each actor tells us their story and we hear how they intertwine. Each of our characters is somewhat lost in a life that is not what they had hoped for and the question is, should they continue to hope? Or should they just try to make the best of what life has served up for them? You can judge for yourself."
