Chicago Tribune - Not Recommended
"...I don't doubt that McGraw, whose new play is enjoying a Chicago premiere from the Cole Theatre, intends this trio as an exaggerated observance of how low men can sink, and thus a cautionary tale for any woman who might cross paths with them. But the inherent existential problem with this 80-minute sensation-shocker - be warned that you are in an intimate theater - is that you are being asked to spend part of your evening with them and maybe even empathize with their lost souls a little. And, most assuredly, they are written to be absolutely not worth your time."
Chicago Reader - Not Recommended
"...At one of the lowest points in this Cole Theatre production, we find out that one of the three has been keeping a gagged naked woman in his room (the script is vague about whether or not this is against her will). But after dropping this bombshell, McGraw awkwardly changes the subject, turning to lower-stakes conflicts among the trio. Following the lead of this spotty material, the performances too are spasmodic, though Shane Kenyon is, relatively speaking, likable as the most grown-up of the three. This is a very long 75-minute play."
Time Out Chicago - Not Recommended
"...Perhaps unintentionally, the overarching message of The Bachelors is that men are awful, dirty pigs, and when they're not awful, dirty pigs, they're just sad and pathetic. The question might be whether these guys are simply products of a villainous patriarchy, or if their existence is the force that keeps the patriarchal machine running. In the vacuum of McGraw's poorly drawn story, though, it doesn't seem to matter. When the moment of reckoning comes and goes in a violent outburst between Laurie and Henry, it changes nothing about them or our understanding of their circumstances. We know so little about where these guys came from that it's hard to know-or care about-where they might be going."
Stage and Cinema - Not Recommended
"...The fact that women wrote and directed Cole Theatre’s new work both deepens this easy indictment of gender evil and highlights the redundancy of so many familiar accusations. If this were a crime scene (instead of just a car crash), the cops would be entirely right to say, “Nothing new here, folks. Just move on.” You’d have more fun looking under a rock."
ChicagoCritic - Somewhat Recommended
"...If you're looking for a play to see with spot-on scenic design (by Grant Sabin) and some impressive and entertaining acting, then Cole Theatre's The Bachelors, directed by Erica Weiss, is your show. But be prepared to feel perplexed at the strange momentum of the play (that's the inciting incident that never happens) and unsatisfied at the conclusion-because, again, the whole story began the night before. Aw, bro, we should'a been there!"
Around The Town Chicago - Not Recommended
"...As you know, I try very hard to work with every theater company, often giving them the benefit of doubt if there are ways in which I may have mis-interpreted something in a production. Cole Theatre is a new company and their current production, “The Bachelors” left me flat. This company is only in its 3rd year, so I imagine they are having some growing pains and sometimes a new company will make a selection that seems fitting for their ensemble, but from script to stage, just doesn’t work. At least for me."
Chicago Theatre Review - Somewhat Recommended
"...Caroline V. McGraw’s strange one-act is both vicious and poetic. She creates three, post-college friends, a trio of swine-like man-child characters who, in many ways, are hopelessly stuck in their teenage years. In an absurd, almost Twilight Zone scenario, events are discovered, confessions are made and three young men are forever changed, but not necessarily for the better. At the end of the night, as the confidence of these young men wither, something far uglier has begun to grow."
The Fourth Walsh - Not Recommended
"...The big problem is it's not funny. THE BACHELORS made me shake my head, raise my eyebrows, check my watch but it never made me laugh out loud. I can't recommend this show."
Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended
"...The Bachelors might ruffle some feathers, but that's obviously the point. Rather than simply make a bold statement about male mistreatment of women, the production does so in an entertaining manner. Cole Theatre executes a very strong production for McGraw's compelling work. It's hard to believe that a company can display this much polish in only its second production."
Third Coast Review - Somewhat Recommended
"...The Bachelors nobly attempts to deliver this desperately needed social commentary in 75 minutes - and almost manages to do it well. For at least the first half of the show, the plot of The Bachelors is mostly efficient, neat and has a couple of pretty solid performances. However, the plot ultimately falls apart when the term "dark comedy" is abused, leaving us with a show that would have benefited from holding on to the early charm of their leading men rather than abandoning it for a loose message and unnecessary dramatics."
NewCity Chicago - Not Recommended
"...What's most disturbing about "The Bachelors," which premiered last fall in New York, is that it captures the zeitgeist without critiquing it. The play's cardboard-cutout characters, reeking of phallic narcissism and empty of compassion and conscience, are avatars of Trumpism, reveling in their swinishness. Like The Donald's political stage-show, this is a comedy of cruelty-at bottom, of death-and I for one don't find it funny at all."
