Chicago Tribune
- Recommended
"...Here in Chicago, we’re catching up with Baker’s first major success, “Body Awareness” from 2008. This solid but less-than-scintillating freshman work, which strains credibility on occasion, is already being roundly eclipsed by Baker’s later achievements. But in this uncharacteristically gentle show from the Profiles Theatre, you can surely see the seeds of compassionate humanism and warm comedy that have helped make Baker such a rapid success."
Chicago Sun Times
- Recommended
"...It is the dynamic between these two women, who are so at odds with their own lives in many ways, that is most intriguing here. And both actresses bring an enormous wealth of understanding, truth and vulnerability to their portrayals, with Graeff (whose work is invariably marked by formidable intelligence, clarity and drive) and Stasiw (whose exceptional warmth, naturalness and nerve-baring honesty are altogether riveting here) creating a superb match."
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...As Jared, Eric Burgher deftly transitions from deadpan proclamations on autodidacticism (his textbook being the Oxford English Dictionary) to heart-wrenching confusion about his sexuality. Benjamin Thiem's production inspires both hearty laughter and serious reflection."
Windy City Times
- Recommended
"...Playwright Baker wraps up her parable tidily—some might say too tidily—in a briskly efficient 75 minutes. But director Benjamin Thiem deftly skirts any knee-jerk risibility by keeping the pace unhurried to allow his cast of Profiles ensemble regulars—Cheryl Graeff and Barb Stasiw as the cuddly cohabitant couple, Eric Burgher lending depth to what could have emerged as a hackneyed stereotype, with Joe Jahraus contributing his familiar bemused-observer turn—the time and scope necessary to invest their personae with spiritual malaise of a gravity sufficient to assure our empathy."
Copley News Service
- Highly Recommended
"...It’s a small work in size--four characters, a single basic set, and 80 minutes of uninterrupted playing time. But Baker is a real writer, creating four distinct characters who bounce off each other in a sequence of brief, sometimes funny and sometimes intense scenes. “Body Awareness” doesn’t have the flash and sizzle of early Albee or Mamet, but it’s still the real deal as engrossing theater."
Centerstage
- Highly Recommended
"...It's a disconcerting and thrilling experience to watch human behavior under a microscope. Revelations that would pass unnoticed in everyday life are clear, seemingly routine conversations have huge stakes. "Body Awareness," the first play by rising playwright Annie Baker to be produced in Chicago, puts its characters under the theatrical microscope, making us care about four fascinating, flawed people while letting us see the minute ways they sabotage their own happiness. Though the play is brief in length and low on plot, it's moving and absorbing, particularly in Benjamin Thiem's sensitively acted production. It's easy to see why Baker's already so acclaimed."
Time Out Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...
Profiles gives the play a characteristically athletic production. If anything, it’s too single-minded: Thiem could allow more stillness for the audience to consider the complexity of such moments as Joyce’s veiled allusions to childhood abuse or her awkward photo session with Frank. While Burgher and Graeff slightly overplay their characters’ bottled rage, Stasiw is a perfectly wonderful Joyce, torn and possessed of a mysterious strength."
ShowBizChicago
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Despite its structural foibles, “Body Awareness” has been helmed admirably by the capable artists at Profiles Theatre. Director Benjamin Thiem tacitly weaves an environment with designer Thad Hallstein in which the characters may breathe, curse, and deflate naturally. Actors Cheryl Graeff and Eric Burgher tender superbly nuanced performers as A-type Phyllis and her troubled stepson."
ChicagoCritic
- Somewhat Recommended
"...I was moved by the work by Joe Jahraus as the kind visual artist, Frank. Eric Burgher was terrific as the explosive Jared who is both a genius and a social misfit. His struggle to accept his condition is dramatically presented. Body Awareness deals with hidden insecurities, basic desires and latent fears. I found the play underwritten with a flawed premise. Burger and Stasiw’s performances gave the work its finest moments."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Recommended
"...What we witness during this 90 minutes is each member of this family awakening to their own awareness of who and what they are. All of this is brought on by Frank and his free spirit. The story is very real and under the direction of Benjamin Thiem it unfolds in a manner that is very understandable."
Chicago Theater Beat
- Highly Recommended
"...Thiem has the ensemble in seamless formation throughout, spinning a story of compelling ideas and vivid characters. If you leave Body Awareness mulling the implications of the dreaded male gaze, well, good for you. But for all its feminist theory and academic setting, Body Awareness is mostly a fine slice of storytelling."
