Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...You see where Spencer is going with this — will Americans be so blithe about drone warfare when the targets are domestic? But these portions are a major weak spot, lacking any credibility or Spencer's caustic point-of-view. He would be smart to chuck these bits altogether and narrow the focus."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Steve J. Spencer packs his ambitious 95-minute drama with hot-button issues and digs into them with insight and audacity. Unfortunately, his stage world is implausible. Spencer's military setting lacks all military protocol; Becky and Roy not only backtalk their superiors but hold Preston captive for 24 hours without repercussions. Stacy moves from blogger to terrorist in a trice. Big ideas can't make up for a poorly vetted story."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...While the outcome of this cautionary tale of potential abuse of drones by governments is dramatized, I simply didn’t buy how who much of a threat Stacy, Mike and Amber are to the social order. Spencer makes a much stronger case for the effects of drones on both their pilots and their targets. This show is a thought provoking work with sharp caustic bites and several well-developed characters. Push Button Murder is tightly directed by Ronan Marra (from Signal Ensemble Theatre) as it blends dark humor with scary scenarios that will leave you debating the merits of drone use. At about 95 minutes, it could use a trim but ultimately, it is a crisp political satire worth seeing."
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"...Steven J. Spencer's play "Push Button Murder" perhaps tries to do much. Its main thread is the work of two "decorated" drone pilots "who don't exist on paper" called Roy (Derek Garza) and Becky (Meredith Rae Lyons) who Spencer uses to explore, among numerous other things, why drone pilots commit suicide at higher rates than those who fly combat missions overseas. The high suicide and PTSD rate among drone pilots is a known phenomenon, and Spencer turns it into an interesting, tense, dramatic, and fruitful question. However, there is a bizarre subplot about a bankrupt teacher turned blogger, and violent apolitical revolutionary which seems to suggest that the drone pilots' willingness to do their work is linked to modern pedagogy, our heavy reliance on electronics in daily life, and the failure of social activists."
Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended
"...As drones become a familiar, ever-present component of our country’s war on terror, Steve J. Spencer’s long one-act offers a frightening, honest look at what may really be going on below the surface and the long-term effects on our unsung warrior heroes. Their disconnect to humanity and what is actually occuring each time these pilots press that button is horrifying, yet there’s an added element of empathy for their situation, as well. But for the unsuspecting, sometimes innocent victims of these drone attacks it’s a direct look into the face of terror."
Splash Magazine - Recommended
"...Directed by Ronan Marra, the cast (Andrew Bailes, Derek Garza, Kasia Januszewski, Amy Johnson, Meredith Rae Lyons, and Ben Veatch) does an admirable job at holding our attention and working with the script at hand."
NewCity Chicago - Recommended
"...Steve J. Spencer’s “Push Button Murder” starts out as a slice-of-life play, telling the tale of two bored drone pilots on a long shift doing surveillance around the world from their remote underground bunker. Its pacing reflects their boredom. Becky (Meredith Rae Lyons) and Roy (Derek Garza) sit at aging computer consoles while determining whether to drop death from above on unsuspecting people elsewhere."
