Building the Wall presented by Stage Left Theatre at Athenaeum Theatre

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...Despite potentially high stakes, their 75-minute encounter is inert. Gloria already knows the answers to nearly every question she poses, and Rick, who desperately wants his side of the story made known, has no reason to talk to an interviewer who continually points out how mistaken he is. In short, neither needs anything from the other, and we're left with a predictable explication of the current divide between liberals and conservatives. Understandably, director Amy Szerlong can't bring this Stage Left premiere to convincing life."

Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended

"...The problems with Building the Wall lie almost entirely with Schenkkan’s script, but director Amy Szerlong’s production has one major flaw as well, and it’s the miscasting of Bozzuto, a physically slight, inherently empathetic actor who does as well as he can with Rick, but he is just entirely unbelievable as an ex-military, Texan good ol’ boy thug. There’s a sense of hardscrabble, country-fried machismo to the character that Bozzuto simply cannot play—nor should he be expected to."

Third Coast Review - Somewhat Recommended

"...Your stomach may be tied in knots at some of the descriptions in Rick's discourse. The problem is that there's really no tension between the two characters. Rick wants his side of the story told but his answers are no surprise to Gloria. Szerlong's direction is capable and both Buzzuto and Jones give fine performances. But perhaps it's too soon for this play. Do we need a little time for current issues to become good theater?"

NewCity Chicago - Somewhat Recommended

'...For Stage Left’s mission of bringing the politics of our daily lives into communion with art, “Building The Wall” is an undeniable success. Yet there is a sense of disappointment in the misapplication of impulse and expenditure on yet another entry into the canon of “complicated white people,” a seemingly indefatigable fund that turns on regularly for the recipients of privilege, much less so than for those who experience its repercussions. In art (never mind politics), if as much energy was spent to “understand” people of color as white folks, it might render a work like “Building the Wall” obsolete or at least a relic of long, reprehensible history."