Chicago Tribune
- Somewhat Recommended
"... Mary-Arrchie has had a better handle on this kind of thing in the past, but here the production toggles uncertainly between comedy and intense drama in the hands of director Carlo Lorenzo Garcia. It is only in the play's final third when Matt Rockwood appears (as the mysterious character menacingly referred to as the Doctor) that things get interesting. Built like Fred Gwynne's Herman Munster, Rockwood is a big hulking slab of an actor, and he manages to transcend the production's campy inclinations to create the rich and deeply enigmatic performance the play sorely needs."
Chicago Reader
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Carlo Lorenzo Garcia's production is valuable as a reminder of the massive debt younger writers like Tracy Letts and Martin McDonagh owe Shepard. If only it were better. Mistaking Shepard's surrealism for a license to party, Garcia lets some performances devolve into cartoon hysterics. Matt Rockwood survives, cunningly, by maintaining a Pinteresque cool as the cruelest mobster of all."
Time Out Chicago
- Recommended
"...There’s plenty to like here, including Vallarta’s goofy-scary skitters across the stage and gangster patter; he leans into the stylized verse of Shepard’s dialogue, while Galvan, playing it straight and sweet, grounds it with realism. The characters, creatures of a dystopian economy that’s recognizably ours, each have an angle on their odd little story. But the actors’ approaches are as varying as their shaky English accents—a distracting jangle in a mostly pleasing production."
Stage and Cinema
- Somewhat Recommended
"... The play oscillates from twisted tragedy to broad farce moment by moment, a balance that is challenging for Mary-Arrchie Theater Company to maintain. At the moments when it falters, the equilibrium was lost by not just by director Carlo Lorenzo Garcia‘s inconsistent tone and the somewhat incongruous presentational style of his actors, but the script—which never really had it in the first place: This is early Shepard, and the touches of magic that characterize his work seem more roughhewn than tuneful. As Cody notes, “It’s very delicate work, dreaming a winner.”"
ChicagoCritic
- Recommended
"... Once Cody starts dreaming winners after Santee suggestshe focus on greyhound dog races, Cody’s skills providemore winners.Thereal fun begins when Fingers and his commanding Doctor (Matt Rockwood) arrive at the hotel. We see how weird Fingers is and how fearsometheDoctor really is. The quirky parody is rich in terrific acting,especially from Gavin Robinson who moves from frighten cowboy to Irish dog breeder to a dog itself. Kevin Stark is terrific as the absurd gangster while Matt Rockwood is eerily effective has the insanedoctor determined to harvest all dreamer’s energy by removing their body parts sohe can have their energy. This show is effectively wacky and the performers seem to be having a good time with their characters. Dreamer is an enticing, highly engaging oneact thatwill keepyou guessing."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow
- Highly Recommended
"...Not so much a who-dunnit-crime-drama more like a what-the-hell-fantasy-play. I came out of the theatre thinking this play is probably just like Sam Shepard. His public persona seems pedestrian but than I see this show and realize this artist’s mind must be constantly racing with creative zaniness. His dream world must be completely f#cked up. Writing, directing, acting, GEOGRAPHY OF A HORSE DREAMER hits the trifecta."
