Voice Lessons at Steppenwolf Theatre

Chicago Tribune - Not Recommended

"...The production, which has a perfunctory set, is scaled for a much larger setting — some of the stuff in this play just does not need you to be so up close and personal. For much of the hour I fought off a strong impulse to flatten myself against the back wall."

Daily Herald - Somewhat Recommended

"...The problem is the ensemble outperforms the play. Originally directed by Bart DeLorenzo, this three-hander unfolds as a rather mean-spirited comedy that mocks community theater performers for no discernible purpose other than taking swipes at some low-hanging theatrical fruit."

Chicago Reader - Not Recommended

"...We're supposed to find this amusing-and even, in the end, goofily romantic. But neither the script nor the lead performances by Laurie Metcalf and French Stewart yield a single moment's fun, much less honesty. The old critique of Steppenwolf was that its actor-centered ensemble valued fat parts over quality scripts; brought to the company as a vehicle for Metcalf, this 55-minute . . . thing . . . gives the old critique scary new life."

Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended

"...Metcalf's coarse, delusional Virginia lands somewhere between one of Kate McKinnon's SNL whackjobs and Amy Sedaris's Strangers With Candy character Jerri Blank. Stewart's uptight Nate starts off fronting as Virginia's cultured foil, but playwright Justin Tanner soon reveals Nate to be as much of an out-there outcast in his way as his student. By this hourlong sketch's final scene, though, things cross the line from transgressive to distasteful; the kind of thing you might write off at the Annoyance is harder to forgive at ticket prices upward of $60. Let's hope this is a lesson learned for Steppenwolf's new space."

NewCity Chicago - Recommended

"...Metcalf and Stewart, the former a Tony-nominated ensemble member who has recently returned from a successful run on Broadway and the latter a staple of television comedy, are hilarious together. Metcalf's Virginia is an over-the-top, completely oblivious and tone-deaf community-theater diva who pairs excellently with Stewart's well-educated and snooty Nate. Maile Flanagan, who plays Nate's love interest and Virginia's "competition," adds an additional layer to this amusing and occasionally awkward (in the best possible way) show. The play is only sixty minutes long and clips along with plenty of laughs. The set, a simple middle-class-home living room designed by Gary Guidinger, serves the action well."