 Graceland
Profiles Theatre at
National Pastime Theater
Chicago Tribune- Highly Recommended
"...Fairey’s drama is a must-see for anyone who follows important new plays from and about Chicago. This young Chicago writer, whose earlier play “Girl, 20,” seduced me with similar intensity in 2006, is right on the cusp of being the next Chicago playwright to hit the big-time in the fashion of Tracy Letts or Keith Huff. This latest play could well be the one. It is a touching and beautifully crafted piece of Chicago theater. I’d argue that Fairey’s work here has some notable similarities to the great Chicago North Side writing tradition from “Sexual Perversity in Chicago” to “Superior Donuts.” But Fairey also is a kinder, gentler writer with a lean and wholly unforced style that only emphasizes the pain, sadness and fortitude of her middle-class characters."
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Chris Jones
Chicago Sun Times- Highly Recommended
"...Barrie, a petite blond with a most intriguing face and emotions that run deep, made a huge impression as the star of Lifeline's "Mariette in Ecstasy" earlier this season, and her beautifully modulated work here only confirms her enormous talent. Her chemistry with Challinor -- beguiling in his youthful beauty, and blend of boyish energy and willed calm -- is ideal. Looks like another long run for Profiles."
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Hedy Weiss
Time Out Chicago- Somewhat Recommended
"...Miller’s production suffers from herky-jerky pacing and uneven tone. Challinor, a teenage actor asked to shoulder much of the play’s emotional heft, acquits himself admirably enough, while the always-radiant Barrie does what she can to create a journey for Sara that doesn’t exist in the script. As “grace” goes, Fairey seems to be invoking the “quality of mercy” sense; despite occasional glimmers, her play doesn’t feel graceful in any other capacity."
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Kris Vire
Chicago Reader- Recommended
"...Though Fairey creates only middling stakes and very few shades of gray, director Matthew Miller's pitch-perfect cast find myriad nuances. As Sara, Brenda Barrie continues her streak of carefully etched performances. But it's baby-faced Jackson Challinor's razor-sharp timing as the bumbling, precocious Miles that steals the show."
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Justin Hayford
NewCity Chicago- Highly Recommended
"...In this ninety-minute one-act crisply paced by director Matthew Miller, Miles and Sara become soulmates, both haunted lonelies drawn together by the hopeful essence of youth. That life is ultimately a sad and lonely journey may not be an original observation to draw from the theater, but Fairey’s play delivers it with such grace and humor, and, most of all, hope, that it feels like the first time. Fairey finds a beautiful and uniquely Chicago metaphor for life in the presence of the Blue Angels crashing through our city’s air (and ear) space for a weekend each summer: their sounds disturb and disorient, like the cacophony of life itself, but the fact that the pilots synchronize not only their flight paths but their very heartbeats in order to survive says it all."
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Brian Hieggelke
Windy City Times- Highly Recommended
"...Ultimately, however, it is Fairey's off-center, but never mean-spirited, humor that rivets our attention on these ships passing in their screwball night, all the way up to the bittersweet resolution—whose very uncertainty, ironically, makes us want to know more of these characters and how their fortunes fare following these events."
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Mary Shen Barnidge
Chicago Free Press- Highly Recommended
"...The show’s biggest asset is Brenda Barrie, whose luminous face can tell a thousand stories. Having recently starred as a troubled nun in “Mariette in Ecstasy,” here Barrie plays protagonist Sara, reunited with her brother in Chicago after their father commits suicide. Over several improbable days, she ends up flirting with Miles, a teenager whose outsider’s perspective makes him both wise and rash. Young actor Jackson Challinor rises to the occasion, displaying fine comedy chops as Miles yet also meeting Barrie in Sara’s sadder moments. Profiles regulars Eric Burgher and Darrell W. Cox provide ample support, played out on William Anderson’s bizarre mash-up set, simultaneously evoking both a cemetery and an apartment. Meanwhile, the painted Graceland backdrop is an accomplished work of art."
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Web Behrens
Copley News Service- Highly Recommended
"...Graceland is precisely the kind of play that demonstrates why the Profiles Theatre has been such an essential force in the storefront theater scene during its 20-year history. “Graceland” is a typical Profiles show, a new play (a world premiere), concise (70 uninterrupted minutes), and staged with flawless ensemble acting."
Dan Zeff
Talkin Broadway- Highly Recommended
"...I've come to appreciate even more Fairey's rare gift for writing equally sympathetically for characters of both genders. Sarah, Sam and Joe are all shown in stages of arrested development, but Fairey judges none of them harshly. Sarah's free-spirited nature is shown to have its cost in her difficulties connecting with others. Sam is utterly without direction without a girlfriend. Joe, prematurely single again, inappropriately seeks to be a buddy more than a dad to his son. The son, Miles, is a city kid, probably smarter and more thoughtful than his peers. For that reason, as well as the way Joe seeks an adult relationship with him, Miles is likely more comfortable with adults and isolated from his peers."
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John Olson
Centerstage- Recommended
"...there are many pleasures along the way. Director Matthew Miller has a sure way with Fairey's writing, and has guided the cast to strong work. They make the characters believable and engaging even when they are behaving in ways that make little sense. Challinor is particularly wonderful—he brings the melodrama and bizarre charm of adolescence to life in an utterly winning way. The fact that he is actually near Miles's age, rather than a young-looking twenty-something, is a major help."
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Zev Valancy
Chicagoist- Highly Recommended
"...Cemeteries kind of creep us out, and when we heard that the play Graceland takes place at the cemetery under the same name, we thought we were in for one creepy, site-specific experience. Turns out the play isn’t site-specific or creepy, but Profiles Theatre’s world premiere of Ellen Fairey’s play is one of the most exciting pieces of theater we’ve seen this year."
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Suzy Evans
ChicagoCritic- Highly Recommended
"...Graceland mixes comedy, rich characters with an off-beat look into loneliness that unfolds as a terrific night at the theatre. Profiles Theatre once again demonstrates their acumen as one of the finest storefront theatre troupes in Chicago. Graceland is a ‘must see’ show."
Tom Williams
Steadstyle Chicago- Recommended
"...There are some tender moments in this production and director Matthew Miller makes it all work. The set by William Anderson is multi-functional as it represents both the grave site and Joe's living room/kitchen. While it is confusing in the first scene, it bends perfectly and we forget that the coffee table is the grave site and that there is a kitchen at the cemetery. This is a tribute to the direction, the actors, the set, the lighting by Jess Harpenau and the sound and music by Mikhail Fiskel."
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Al Bresloff
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