Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"..."Samsara" is one of several current dramas that involves personal interaction and transaction between persons of the first world (in this case a childless American couple) and persons of the third world needing to make a buck (in this case, a surrogate mother in India "renting out" her womb), and thus dealing with the price extracted from their personal and cultural dignity. It's a metaphor, of course, for the (ever-changing) relationship of dependencies between West and East, as so deftly explored by David Henry Hwang in fine plays like "M. Butterfly" and, to my mind, "Chinglish.""
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Whatever your thoughts might be about artificial insemination, surrogate births and all the other engineered wonders of modern science aimed at producing children, it is an almost certain bet you will be rooting for the arrival of Amit, the hilariously funny "genius fetus" brought to vivid, pulsating life by actor Behzad Dabu in Lauren Yee's darkly whimsical play, "Samsara.""
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...But the play’s playful style doesn’t diminish the weight of its substance. Yee, Bockley and their gung ho cast ensure every character—even Parker’s intentionally notional Frenchman—is fully drawn. But amid moving work all around, it’s Dabu’s quick-witted, magnetic performance as the still-cooking kid that dazzles most: Alternately searching and taunting, petulant and passionate, this baby’s a doll."
ChicagoCritic - Somewhat Recommended
"...Playwrights often run into trouble when they attempt to take on big themes without much experience. Samsara, now having its world premiere product after two years of development at Victory Gardens, is one example of a play that's meant to comment on everything from international relations, to family, to mystical explanations for death. But while recent playwriting MFA Lauren Yee is aware of a multiplicity of theatrical devices, she doesn't apparently have much to say about those subjects, and mangles what she does."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...Despite its potentially heavy subject matter, the play’s treatment remains fairly lighthearted throughout, which is both to its benefit and possibly to its detriment. While it made for a highly enjoyable night of theatre, it didn’t seem to resonate much beyond the building’s walls. Though Samsara concerns the cycle of life, the life of this play didn’t extend much beyond the final bows. However, the play’s last moment, in which Craig and Katie take the first steps into an uncertain future, was perfection. In a way, the play’s lack of lingering power can be attributed to its hopeful ending, which brings the story to a satisfying conclusion and allows us to carry on into a samsara of our very own."
- Conor McShane and Leslie Hull
Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended
"...Ms. Yee’s play has a lot to say about the tricky risks of surrogacy, especially when it involves participants from different cultures. The expectations of everyone involved, paired with the cost and outcome, is depicted as unique. In a topic that’s seldom discussed, this dramatic look at womb rental, both as a means for earning easy income and as a solution for the more affluent, hopeful parents-to-be, Lauren Yee’s play leaves audiences with an entertaining, yet very thought-provoking, evening of theatre."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Somewhat Recommended
"...The five-member cast under Seth Bockley's directing throws itself into the fray with much commitment. Lori Myers is very good as Katie, a woman hungering for a baby and startled by the erotic attraction of the Frenchman she created in her mind. Joe Dempsey is saddled with portraying Craig as an ineffectual but sympathetic husband who ends up a figure of heartbreaking desperation alone and forlorn in India. Behzad Dabu does what he can with the role of the unborn Amit, a character most of the opening night audience seemed to enjoy far more than I did. Jeff Parker plays the Frenchman with suitable aplomb and also portrays a genially callous doctor in India, though with an English accent for some reason."
NewCity Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...However, all of this verve is made tinny and small by the blank, black void of a set that they are stuck upon, like hearing music coming out of someone else's headphones.: you can still hear the tune, but you lose the full effect."
