Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...It is the little details in the production that give it some needed texture. The occasional meow (he kept cats), the props (including an old-fashioned coffee pot) and the cozy space of his artist's studio (courtesy of scenic designer Jacqueline Penrod) upon which projections of Klimt's work appear, as if from thin air, whenever he makes reference to them."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Occasionally the lights get moody, he faces a different direction, and he starts reciting letters about a failing love affair. Nothing comes to much of a head, and while Pfiffner is an engaging performer, playwright-director Susan Pavdeen rarely moves his monologue beyond the grandly bland."
Windy City Times - Recommended
"...A theater audience can easily substitute for a character's imaginary one, but when that audience is understood to consist of a single immobile individual, solo-show actors face additional challenges. Fortunately, Cameron Pfiffner never falters in the locating details of his environment, whether addressing his cool-cookie customer, soliloquizing to his absent muse, introducing his ( many ) cats, or caroling an impromptu "Questa Quella." In the end, playwright Susan Padveen's-well, portrait-of this intensely private artist emerges as intimate and revealing as those displayed in a shifting gallery of slide projections acquainting us with the manifestations of thwarted happiness in geniuses."
ChicagoCritic - Somewhat Recommended
"...They are quite amazing, and justify, in part, why somebody would commission Klimt for a portrait and why the audience should want to learn about him. However, to be the wall against which he bounces his voice is exactly like being the object of undesired attention from a person who will not take a hint or acknowledge a firm refusal in real life: boring and stressful. There is something interesting in Klimt’s lifestory, but the script needs to be more dynamic, for the sake of structure as well as so the main character doesn’t spend the entire play antagonizing the audience."
Around The Town Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...The one place Klimt's work is allowed to display itself, a projection on a textured screen against the back wall, comes across as muted and gauzy, not the colorful, larger-than-life paintings he's known for. The projections often appear when prompted by something Klimt says, as a way to illuminate what he's talking about. This literal approach, here and throughout the play, stalls the momentum, teasing us with the brilliance of his work but never giving us the chance to, in the words of Klimt, "look attentively at my pictures and there seek to recognize what I am and what I want.""
Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended
"...The Portrait isn't a perfect production, and most of its stumbles lie with Padveen's writing. However, lovely production values and Pfiffner's stirring performance make The Portrait a show worth seeing. Greenhouse Theater Center, previously a rental venue for local companies, has recently hired new staff and made a foray into producing. Thus far, its Solo Celebration! series is a terrific first attempt."
