Picture Imperfect at Athenaeum Theatre

Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended

"...A late-in-the-show plot twist further complicates matters and suggests that the real subject of "Picture Imperfect" isn't autism, but mental illness. Cornfield and Zieman have put together the outlines of a solid family drama on a topic that fully deserves explication. But the excesses in the plot and hesitant performances distract from the compelling moment-to-moment drama of raising an autistic child without compassionate community support."

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...Of the several dramatically unfocused forces that come into play against Cole's unemployed, impulsive, short-tempered mother, Mary—for whom we're expected to be rooting—the most prominent include the high-strung social worker clamoring to institutionalize Cole and Cole's schmuck of an estranged father, who's dead set on stealing his son's "masterpieces" to make a buck. Ultimately, although we're promised a meticulous portrait of Cole's interior life, what we're given is limited to perfumy platitudes and holier-than-thou rants against Rain Man."

Windy City Times - Somewhat Recommended

"...The problem with Richard J. Zieman and Joel Z. Cornfield's play is not its ambivalence regarding the holiness of filial piety when coupled with appalling judgment, but that its literary gestation appears to be stalled in the storyboarding stages—a technique originating in the motion picture business—making for a narrative structured as a gallery of disparate scenes, rather than exhibiting a clearly defined objective. Further development could resolve some of the ambiguities manifested in its current production: fleshing out personalities to render Mary as sympathetic and George as charming as the plot demands. ( Alyssa Thordarson's Pam comes off so savvy that we wonder what she can possibly find attractive about a man who still calls women, "Baby." ) Zieman and Cornfield might also remind us that Cole is not just a McGuffin propelling custodial conflict, but the only character with the potential for a future. Clues as to Eric's dramatic purpose could be inserted more judiciously, and the necessity of a firearm-waving confrontation reconsidered altogether."

ChicagoCritic - Not Recommended

"...Young Izzy Tortuga is excellent as the autistic boy painter. He alone gave a worthy performance. The script is shallow, cliche-ridden and predictable and the performances were amateurish. Too bad the play wasn't more about autism but it is a weak script in the hands of a group of inexperienced actors. It comes off as a vanity project."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Somewhat Recommended

"...Eric is by far the most mysterious and enthralling character, and for that matter, Jamie McKinney, who plays him, is most memorable. Sarah Bright as Mary is the other standout here. The rampant arguments between the two of them are the best moments in the performance, all under the direction of Michael Stults. Alyssa Thordarson as the young girlfriend, Pam, seems miscast and worthy of something smarter, while Jeffrey Brown leaves the audience unsettled as the slippery George Thomas, slipping up his own lines along the way."