Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...If Tennessee Williams grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with an Irish-Catholic working-class mother, rather than a remnant of faded Southern gentry, he might have written something like "The Little Flower of East Orange," Stephen Adly Guirgis' story of familial guilt, grace and the cracked colander of memory through which we strain what we believe to be the most important parts of ourselves."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Guirgis isn't the first playwright to take special pleasure in turning the thumbscrews on his characters and audience, or the first to wade into shame and borderline misanthropy; not unlike Conor McPherson, though, he does so for the higher purpose of illuminating grace where it matters most. Steve Scott's exceptionally cast production makes stellar use of Strawdog ensemble member John Henry Roberts as the narrator coming to terms with his choices."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...With a set made mostly of gauzy, white hospital curtains, director Steve Scott tries to temper the play's more erratic impulses. And while this means the production lacks that jittery, junkie frisson that Guirgis delivers so well, it's mostly a success. While It loses some soul, the play still has plenty of heart-and plenty of drama. It's the kind of script that Chicago actors can (and do) sink their teeth into. In other words, it might be a turducken, but even that can still hit the spot."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"...A show doesn't-can't-get truer or richer than this current 140-minute gem at the Athenaeum Theatre. Perfectly concluding an all-Stephen Adly Guirgis season, Eclipse Theatre's Chicago premiere The Little Flower of East Orange is powerfully personal, authentically intimate, and convincingly detailed-a harrowing look at raw redemption. Solidly rooted in the play's poles of hardboiled dialogue (that waxes ornately rhapsodic at a wonderful whim) and magic realism (that fits every moment it enlarges), Steve Scott's incandescent staging is a thing of beauty and a joy forever (or until December 18)."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...John Henry Roberts, as Danny, narrates and battles with his mother with passion that moves form compassion to rage and contempt as he struggles with her. This is the finest performance I've seen from Roberts who has long been a staple of non-Equity actors for many years. He is terrific here as the hard drinking and rage-infested son. But this is Jeannine Affelder's play as difficult it is playing a sick, often delusional old lady, Affelder presents a tour de force performance as Theresa Marie. The dynamics of the battle between Danny and Therese Marie fuel this emotionally packed drama. Director Steve Scott keeps the pace moving as he builds the tension nicely. Guirgis' stinging language plays like urban lyrics. Once we enter his world of deeply human vulnerable souls, we quickly relate to these unique people. Guirgis is a gifted storyteller and playwright with a vernacular urban voice. His plays resonate with the human condition. The Little Flower of East Orange is well-worth seeing!"
Third Coast Review - Recommended
"...The Little Flower of East Orange at Eclipse Theatre is a play of family turmoil that features colorful side characters as well as the tortured family members-mother, son and daughter. Director Steve Scott stages the story in a hospital emergency room; the characters and the dialogue sizzle and lift the drama out of its bleak environment."
Picture This Post - Highly Recommended
"...From actor John Henry Roberts' opening lines, you immediately sense that you are witnessing stand-out acting, and notably with pitch perfect New York accents. He is playing Danny, now incarcerated and in a permanent state of being on edge. Roberts is so much in the skin of his character that it's easy to imagine his skin is clammy."