Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...Baker's play, which does not have an intermission and is divided into episodes that correspond to the weeks of the class, walks a careful line between satirizing how people look to the arts to solve their problems and admiring them for having the guts to do so. It would be too easy to be mean to these people, and while “Circle Mirror Transformation” eschews sentimentality, it always seems to believe in the promise of the third word of its title."
Chicago Sun Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...Baker’s final scene, in which members of the class imagine meeting each other 10 years down the road, prompts another question from Lauren about how many times in life we totally change, to the point where the past can seem almost unreal. And with that question the generally mundane and predictable quality of “Circle Mirror Transformation” suddenly morphs into something close to profound."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...It's always authentic, if only sometimes entertaining. Watching others writhe on the floor, reveal intimate secrets, and count to ten only confirmed my belief, based on personal experience, that theater exercises are equal parts training, therapy, and baloney."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...this production boasts actors who neither ham nor signal the comedy in advance. They are as true as trivets in nailing five decent people caught in a class together and caught in life's ordinary traps. All are Chicago-based veterans who do our local ensemble tradition proud. Director Dexter Bullard, ever up for a challenge, has respected the leisurely pace the script demands while imposing a sure sense of character and emotional detail. This script and production take common people and enlarge them."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...
The forward action is propelled by Baker’s painstaking reveals of her characters’ back stories or of what’s happened between them since the last week’s class. Her dialogue is almost uncomfortably naturalistic: These people don’t speak in sparklingly crafted witticisms; they unveil their inner lives in half-hewn sentences and awkward silences."
ChicagoCritic - Somewhat Recommended
"...The revelatory scenes whereby each character revealed their innermost fears came from the games/exorcises in the class. If you have the patience and stamina to stick with this show- it’ll pay off with some funny, telling and poignant moments. Audiences will get a glimpse into basic acting games that most actor’s must endure on their way toward conquering their craft. We see how these exercises can effect an assortment of folks. It is too bad that the staging and pace dilutes the impact of this work. A quicker pace and fewer blackouts would greatly enhance Baker’s promising play."
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"...The story is one of beautiful ideas and thoughts and the ending is rather dramatic for all the characters.There are many funny moments in this story, in particular, and in fact the one that probably got the largest laugh is when Lauren asks the question ( about half-way through the course,”Are we ever going to learn to act”?- they never really do a script, but they do learn about people, relationships, trust and their own inner selves, which can only make them better people and of course better actors. They say acting is believing and this they learn."
Chicago Theater Beat - Highly Recommended
"...The fact that not much happens here is exactly the point – and for many theatergoers that, alas, may be exactly the problem. Nothing epic sparks the story. But Baker has created a theatrical complement to real life. Their assorted epiphanies, turning points and kinetic breakthroughs are few and far between, especially in a span as short as six weeks. Just because the life-changing stuff doesn’t happen often or as expected doesn’t mean that what’s left doesn’t deserve the respect of a dramatic depiction. Circle Mirror Transformation is very respect-full."
