Upstate presented by MPAACT at The Greenhouse Theater Center

Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended

"...The letters we hear them reading aloud just do not contain the kind of storytelling that allows your mind to imagine them as a couple before they were separated. This is where it wouldn't have been a bad idea to stray a bit from the source material. Natasha and Antonio are in separate worlds from the start. Their connection feels theoretical. We need to actually see them together to get a sense of the texture of their relationship. (A quicker back-and-forth between the two would also speed up the momentum.) The ending, which should feel more complicated than it does, is rushed, but Martin and Thomas make for easy company, and sometimes that's enough."

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...Set in the 1990s, the play, like the novel, chronicles the relationship between Antonio and his girlfriend (Asia Martin) through the letters they exchange while he's in prison upstate, reflecting the couple's struggle to stay emotionally true to each other while pursuing the separate paths life has set them on. Directed by Carla Stillwell for the Ma'at Production Association of Afrikan Centered Theatre (MPAACT), the play tells its story intensely but unsensationally."

ChicagoCritic - Recommended

"...Upstate is effectually written, nicely staged by director Carla Stillwell with superb performances by Juwan Lockett and Asia Martin. This play puts a face on the rough and unequal treatment of young African-American men once they enter the criminal justice system. Yet, Upstate has a redeeming, even hopeful tone showing that personal strength of character with having someone who believes and cares about you communicating with you can make the deciding difference in your life. Finally, we learn that Antonio is a true spirit whose self-sacrifice makes him a noble spirit who deserves better treatment from the system."

NewCity Chicago - Somewhat Recommended

"...The show's core component, the dismantling of racial prejudices in our legal system, is ultimately relegated to the backseat. There is never a hard conversation about the nature of justice. There is undirected anger and nonspecific questions pointed hazily. Antonio seems better for having gone to prison. He seems happier, more peaceful. It looks as though he benefited from those years. And maybe that's the case for some folks but I suspect the headlines will disagree."