Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...To begin with, Zimmerman upends stereotypical ideas about the limitations of skin color. Ruiz's Edward, the darker-skinned of the two, is the Ivy League go-getter, while blonde-and-blue-eyed Beto, who is apparently a dead ringer for the father who abandoned them as kids, fell in with gangs in an overcompensatory bid to beef up his "vato" street cred. Or at least, that's how Edward sees it."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...‘White Tie Ball,” Martin Zimmerman’s 85-minute morality play, in its world premiere by Teatro Vista, tells a story at once as old as the Bible (think Cain and Abel and the good brother/bad brother dichotomy) and strongly reminiscent of Athol Fugard’s apartheid-era play (the light- and dark-skinned brothers of “The Blood Knot”). It also is custom-made for our own age, in which matters of ethnicity are a highly politicized national obsession."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...With its political strategizing, legal maneuvering, family infighting, and prison visits, Martin Zimmerman's new drama has the makings of a decent cable series. And in Edward Torres's assured production for Teatro Vista, it plays like one, too. But Zimmerman's plotting is forced: Edward agonizes over false choices, suffers contrived ethical crises brought on by people he should be able to outthink. If you can ignore all that, the compensations include kick-ass performances by Nate Santana as Beto and Marvin Quijada as a gang member."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...This is heavy existential cargo for only four actors, but Teatro Vista director Edward Torres never allows his cast to coast on comic-book Macchiavellia. From Gabriel Ruiz and Nate Santana's doomed survivors to Jan Radcliff's savvy mentor and Marvin Quijada's despairing martyr, they command our sympathy over the play's 90-minute running time right up to an abrupt-and provocatively unresolved-ending guaranteed to spark post-show discussions."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...The play's turning point comes when one of Beto's former associates accidentally kills a cop, and Beto's inside knowledge of the case compromises Edward's prosecution. The political machinations that unfold from here are convoluted—and occasionally strain credulity, as when Edward arranges an off-the-record, one-on-one visit with the accused (Marvin Quijada)—but Ruiz gives a sterling performance as a well-meaning man who finds his loyalties and his priorities at impossible odds. All four cast members are terrific, in fact, with Edward Torres's direction keeping the tension driving—all until a stilted final scene that's more deflating than satisfying. Still, as a well-acted portrait of very modern moral dilemmas, White Tie Ball provides much to ponder."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...Zimmerman's script deftly demonstrates the moral and emotional dilemmas where family values, ethnic mores collide with moral principles. Without saying more, let me state that the ending of this 85 minute drama leaves the resolution in question. The actions of one of the brothers was unrealistic. See this show to find out more. Nata Santana and Gabriel Ruiz gave particularly strong performances. Cultural identity defines actions or does it? This show comments on that very distinction."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Somewhat Recommended
"...WHITE TIE BALL peaks quick. It dazzles and then becomes more dance than ball. It’s not a grand affair as much as a pedestrian outing."
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"...Teatro Vista has a new home. After 24 years, this, the largest not-for-profit Equity Latino theater company is no longer a Gypsy troupe. The have landed , in of all places, Lincoln Park in the Victory Gardens ( Biograph) Theater/upstairs in the Richard Christiansen Theater. This is a very intimate space and is perfect for their current production, the World Premiere of Martin Zimmerman’s “White Tie Ball”. This is a terse, 90 minute production cleverly staged by Artistic Director Edward Torres. The story is about two brothers, two Latino brothers, one who appears to be a true Latino and the other, blonde hair and blue eyed. What Zimmerman tackles is the differences between the brothers and the paths they have chosen. Edward ( a strong performance by Gabriel Ruiz) is brown skinned, well educated and on his political way to higher office in Arizona, where they were raised. Beto ( deftly handled by Nate Santana), the blonde, almost “white” appearing younger brother, fell into the gang scene as a teen ( after their father left them for greener pastures) and was convicted for armed robbery at the age of 19."
