The Fundamentals Reviews
Chicago Tribune- Somewhat Recommended
"...If, like me, you are interested in hotels and how they operate, you'll be intrigued by the setup — and you'll also likely consider the lead character to be a very empathetic creation, whose life and challenges feel very much of interest. This is a tribute to the lead performance by Arenas, an actor who rarely fails to build a character so human that you wish her well. So it goes here. With this workplace drama, Sheffer is probing the fertile territory that has brought success to the likes of playwrights Rebecca Gilman and David Lindsay-Abaire. "The Fundamentals" is an honest effort to reflect the lives and challenges faced by service employees in a big American city like New York. There are many millions of those jobs in this nation, filled by diverse Americans. They still are explored too little in the American theater."
Chicago Sun Times- Recommended
"...And the performances are all well-etched, with Arenas suggesting what happens when dreams are denied for too long; Francis showing us a woman whose veneer allows for few cracks; Wilder capturing the fragile, "keep your head down" mentality so familiar to those terrified of losing their job; Riesco perfectly embodying the petty criminal Peter Pan mentality; and Neff suggesting a young woman whose real talent is for treachery."
Daily Herald- Recommended
"...Ambition vs. integrity. The conflict plays out in Erika Sheffer's serviceable, clearsighted workplace drama in its world premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre. It's a familiar conflict, which Sheffer underscores with the equally familiar tropes of class and race. And it plays out among five employees of a luxury, boutique hotel in New York City, whose guests -- while not all one-percenters -- most certainly reside in the top 10."
Chicago Reader- Highly Recommended
"...If everything in the script were as craftily executed as this opening minute, Sheffer (Russian Transport) would have a hell of a play. Instead The Fundamentals is a terrifically uneven affair-given a terrifically acted Steppenwolf premiere under director Yasen Peyankov-by turns convincing and improbable, clever and creaky, focused and meandering. And while its attempted indictment of corporate culture doesn't reach much beyond nice guys finish last, it ultimately offers enough high-stakes drama to earn its two-hour running time."
Windy City Times- Highly Recommended
"...Theater audiences accustomed to deriving their entertainment through fantasies of the rich and powerful may find themselves confronted in the future by an expanding number of plays ennobling the humble laborers too long shunned by a society boasting of its egalitarian principles. Even if you don't subscribe to the WPA-mural view of our nation's populace, you ignore them at your own peril."
Time Out Chicago- Recommended
"...Sheffer (Russian Transport) titles her play after the guiding principles of service laid out by corporate in a pair of faux training videos that begin each act (on-the-nose execution by projection designer Stephan Mazurek and sound designer Rick Sims), but her characters rather predictably prove "resourceful" and "graceful" aren't as important as "self-preserving." Each of these staffers (including Caroline Neff as a new hire at the front desk and Alan Wilder as a kindly-seeming old hand) will make an "unexpected" turn before the play's end, but it's never truly a surprise. Still, director Yasen Peyankov and the impeccable cast imbue the production with added nuance."
Chicago On the Aisle- Recommended
"...The time is right for "The Fundamentals," a sly new play by Erika Sheffer now upstairs at Steppenwolf. With mega-corps in the news for claiming ignorance of malfeasance so widespread it involves thousands of workers - while simultaneously selling the perfume of lofty company ideals - Sheffer zeroes in on the souls who draw the paychecks and suffer the joke."
Stage and Cinema- Highly Recommended
"...Corporate corruption—it’s not just an oxymoron. We associate it with crimes in the suites–but there’s also a trickle-down contamination: Compromises slowly curdle into white collar, then blue collar, crimes—or at least betrayals—of trust, solidarity, and integrity. A cunningly specific Steppenwolf Theatre world premiere, The Fundamentals is steeped in its subject and setting. In 130 minutes playwright Erika Sheffer, author of Russian Transport, turns The Bakerville, a high-end boutique hotel in midtown Manhattan, into a cesspool of a snakepit. This could easily be a Trump hotel."
Chicago Theatre Review- Recommended
"...The next time he checks into a hotel, it's guaranteed that the audience member who's experienced this production will flash back to the unseen heroes who keep things running so smoothly. They're all real people, just like himself, with their own needs and wants. He may also become a bit more sympathetic in his demands as he recalls that these employees both check in and out of their minimum wage jobs quickly, at the whim of their supervisors. Additionally, Erika Sheffer's somewhat predictable comic drama cynically reminds us that people will do almost anything to get ahead. In this respect, Steppenwolf's two-hour production is a modern morality play that entertainingly speaks to the climate of today's business world. It's simply all about following the fundamentals."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews- Highly Recommended
"...“The Fundamentals” is a perfect choice for Steppenwolf’s Upstairs Theatre, an intimate venue that is hospitable to smaller scaled works. I’m not sold on the play as an important exploration of the corporate workplace that drives employees to amoral actions out of a sense of self-preservation. But I’m totally sold on the play as a slice of high-quality entertainment with enough fine writing and acting to merit two hours of any playgoer’s time."
The Fourth Walsh- Somewhat Recommended
"...THE FUNDAMENTALS is fundamentally an amusing but not memorable examination of human behavior. I left the hotel without any lasting takeaways other than be more appreciative of housekeeping."
Third Coast Review- Highly Recommended
"...The world premiere of The Fundamentals, Erika Sheffer's new play now running at Steppenwolf, offers a funny and sharp indictment of America's corporate culture. In Sheffer's play-which was commissioned by Steppenwolf and is directed by ensemble member Yasen Peyankov-Millie, a maid in an upscale Manhattan hotel, tries to climb the corporate ladder without losing the optimism that makes her so charming."
Picture This Post- Somewhat Recommended
"...It seems like The Fundamentals is for an audience who has been in the working world and can relate to Millie's struggles by focusing on the trials and tribulations of moving up in the corporate world. It's an invitation to reminiscence about the absurdity of training days, but also about if there were any moments in your career you might have compromised your morals for."
Splash Magazine- Recommended
"...For a world premiere this one is actually in really good shape. It has a clear purpose, complex layers, an interesting leading character, and, despite the pacing issues, is still entertaining overall. This play works because it shows a behind-the-scenes look at a workplace environment full of dreams, struggles, and soul-crushing realities that can easily translate to all industries, hospitality or not. It is far from perfect - not unusual for a new play. Luckily, the problems here should be far easier to rewrite than many other new works I've seen."
NewCity Chicago- Highly Recommended
"...As directed by Yasen Peyankov (who helmed Sheffer's "Russian Transport" for Steppenwolf in 2014), the play is a great vehicle for the charms and abilities of its cast members. Sheffer's script competently lays out many shades of gray that the actors-Arenas and Wilder especially-do a wonderful job filling out. But the highlight of the show is the series of hilariously disingenuous-and one-hundred percent accurate-corporate training videos designed by Stephan Mazurek. If the play spends a lot of its two hour and fifteen minute run-time muddying the late-capitalist waters, Mazurek's videos make them crystal clear again."