Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...This trio of actors, all of the Chicago school and with Neal the formidable standout, holds your attention throughout the 90 minutes, and the level of personal crises they embody is intense enough that the piece, intriguingly designed by Joanna Iwanicka, achieves a lot of dramatic tension. I think the show could do to breathe more in places and you wish Hoffman had dialed back the wrought ambition of the piece, and better trusted his ability to create nuanced humans, all doing their best, allowing us to apply more of our own thematic attributions."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...Hoffman's play (enhanced by Joanna Iwanicka's fine set, Charles Cooper's lighting, Victoria Deiorio's sound, and Janice Pytel's costumes) is an exercise in such extreme, pressure-cooker-like dysfunction that it can sometimes test believability. But under Hallie Gordon's direction the actors' relentlessness never wavers. If you approach "Cal in Camo" as a 21st century Midwest American gothic tale you won't be disappointed, but you might need something stronger than a beer in its wake."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"... Cal and her frustrated husband, Tim (Eric Slater), live in a brand-new home in Sterling, Illinois, where happiness is as hard to come by as buyers of the fruit-flavored beer Tim peddles. Cal’s missed connection with her infant finds a mark when her estranged brother, Flynt (Keith Kupferer), part Lear and part Don Quixote, comes to visit. William Francis Hoffman’s poignant play oscillates between all-too-real and acid-washed mirage in a stellar production directed by Hallie Gordon."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Recommended
"...Director Hallie Gordon did a good job of inserting fear, self-doubt, and insecurities within Cal and all of the emotions that a first-time parent will experience. Nonetheless, we would have liked to have seen more from Ashley Neal in this role that has shattered so many women who have felt alone in their journey of becoming new mothers."
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"...Family! There are so many plays that deal with family life, positive and negative. Dysfunction in families is a major theme for both movies and plays, and probably the majority of television series that we watch as well. For those of you familiar with Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, dedicated to bring the talents of women to the forefront, as well as to select plays that explore the unique female experiences, you will find the current production, “Cal In Camo” written by William Francis Hoffman, to be an in depth character study of a very dysfunctional family, indeed!"
Third Coast Review - Somewhat Recommended
"...Directed by Hallie Gordon and presented at RTE’s storefront theater in Edgewater, the small space only adds to the sense of Cal’s claustrophobia. The new stay-at-home mother struggles to breast feed and is unable to bond with the child. Her frustrations collide with those of her struggling beer-salesman husband, Tim, and early in the play she confesses to him that she’s flying in her brother, Flynt, who just lost his wife in a flood."
The Hawk Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Cal in Camo is a powerful production that will weigh on you after the final blackout. It is an exploration into the hopeless yet hopeful nature of a family in disarray complemented by incredibly strong acting and scene design. The strength of this production is not to be missed."
NewCity Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...Rivendell Theatre Ensemble has produced some of the city's best work focused on the citizens of so-called flyover country over the past few years. Set in suburban Western Illinois, "Cal in Camo" contains the narrative hallmarks but lacks the dramatic work ethic of "The Firebirds Take the Field," "Dry Land" or "How the World Began.""
