The Universal Wolf at Trap Door Theatre

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...In lieu of a plot Schenkar plays the hip self-conscious playwright, stopping the action again and again to talk about the work or parade her knowledge of postmodern literary criticism. Yes, her versions of Red Riding Hood and the wolf are eccentric-he's full of comic grandiosity, she inexplicably likes to kill small animals-but Antonio Brunetti and Leslie Ruettiger embody the roles so well it's hard not to yearn for them to be given more to work with."

ChicagoCritic - Recommended

"...The title "universal wolf" comes from a speech by Ulysses in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida in which he claims the low morale in the Greek camp is due to Agamemnon's refusal to enforce hierarchy, allowing the greed in everybody to emerge unfettered. Shakespeare's version of the story was itself a much more cynical adaptation of a courtly romance by Geoffrey Chaucer that was tragic to begin with, which is a long way to go for the reference."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended

"...There is some story here, of course. Only it's largely secondary to the pleasure of watching the wolf battle frustrations as comic as they are sexual. Not only does the object of his desire nimbly elude him while managing to flash yet more skin in his direction, but he feels compelled to explain some post-structuralist theory to the audience in what might well read as tedious soliloquies on the page but amounted to heady and hilarious foreplay in person. You quickly realize you're in the company of just another horny intellectual, and hearing him analyze his attraction for a busty blonde in lingerie was the pretty much play's highlight."