Desire Under the Elms presented by GreyZelda Theatre Group at Oracle Theatre

Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended

"...at intermittent points, the actors find the wounded dignity that girds O'Neill's potboiler of a story, thanks mostly to Melissa Kuhlmann's quietly mesmerizing Abbie and to Aris Tompulis' ability to imbue Ephraim--her flinty old coot of a husband--with the wounded solitary pride that is the undoing of his troubled clan."

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...under Chris Riter's perceptive direction, the GreyZelda Theatre Group uses its intimate storefront space to advantage, establishing the intensity of the characters' relationships. In a production running a tidy two hours with not a second wasted, Tom Gordon and Melissa J. Kuhlmann are suitably eros obsessed as the young lovers. But what rivets our attention is Aris Tompulis's bearish performance as the uncompromising patriarch."

Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...The leads in this romantic tragedy are both terrific, especially Kuhlmann, who can be simultaneously coldly determined and confused with passion. She maintains this multiplicity of emotion until Abbie’s climactic breakdown, when she goes blank and weary, as though she’s run out of feelings."

ChicagoCritic - Not Recommended

"...Classics like Eugene O’Neill plays are dangerous grounds for storefront theatres. Desire Under Elms, O’Neill’s dream inspired 1924 play is seldom produced and plays out as much too dramatic, stilted and over written. This isn’t one of O’Neill’s landmark plays."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Somewhat Recommended

"...While the play is ostensibly set in O'Neill's New England, Director Chris Riter's staging seems rooted in West Virginia. This causes a weird avalanche of accents, most troubling being Aris Tompoulis' rural bellow, which turns Ephraim into a leering Southern Captain Bligh. Tom Gordon's earnest and folksy manner is credible if a bit too tame for the intense Eben. But it is Kuhlmann who walks away with the acting honors in an earthy, ripe and sensuous performance that is fully committed and riveting."