Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...“Fade” really is a fresh, funny and highly enjoyable show with promise for a further life. Teatro Vista has been on a roll this year: The company has staged works with broad appeal, complex thinking and an imperative to entertain."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...The wildly expressive Sanchez energetically punches every button of Lucia's hyper-emotional state, but her character's unrelenting rage and resentment can grow exhausting. (As we have been reminded in recent weeks, Hollywood is no dream factory for many women.) Martinez, a wonderfully warm and easily ingratiating actor, serves as an immensely humanizing counter-balance and gives a winningly nuanced performance."
Chicago Reader - Recommended
"...Fade loses its balance at times. Sanchez's hysterics, apt as they are, can become so hard to take that it's a wonder her Lucia can win Abel's genuine if bemused loyalty. At the other end of the spectrum, it would be nice to have more concrete information about Abel. Strands that are left hanging for strategic reasons might be tied up without prejudicing the show. Still, Sanchez is formidable in her willowy way, reconciling Lucia's seemingly schizzy nature. Eddie Martinez's standoffishness as Abel is paradoxically engaging."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...Tanya Saracho may be the first playwright to reverse the Hollywood-Is-Full-of-Greedheads formula in order to illustrate how easily anybody can become one of the greedheads, no matter how lofty their ideals or initially uncompromising their principles—exploitation being in the eye of the beholder, right? Under the direction of Sandra Marquez, Sari Sanchez and Eddie Martinez ( his fourth time playing this role ) never betray the ambiguity of their characters' fluctuating motives, wisely leaving us to parse the moral issues engendered thereby."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...Director Sandra Marquez’s comedic rhythms are at their strongest when Sanchez and Martinez are cutting loose, which is usually the moments when Lucia and Abel are celebrating some kind of offstage triumph. At other times, the humor feels forced, as though the actors and director do not quite trust the material. Martinez hits too many of Abel’s sarcastic punchlines like he’s in a Chandler Bing impersonation contest. The production is more sure of itself when it’s a drama, which has the effect of making the play stronger and stronger as it goes along."
Chicago On the Aisle - Highly Recommended
"...Up to a point, I was quite charmed by Tanya Saracho’s play “Fade,” about two Latinos in different circumstances whose lives intersect at a television production company. I was engaged and delighted by what was spinning out as an edgy comedy in this co-production by Victory Gardens Theater and Teatro Vista – until events took a sharp turn. And then I was seriously impressed. Shaken, actually."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Great writing and performances are very important to a play like this, but trust me, without a director with the heart to truly understand the characters and their personalities, it would never be pulled off. Victory Gardens and Teatro Vista have such a director; Sandra Marquez. Every little detail of these characters is touched by this talented director who is also an actress (of the highest caliber) and an educator. When our two characters meet, they are very different."
Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended
"...While playwright Tanya Saracho denies that her play is autobiographical, there are enough similarities to support that belief. Set in a typical, white male-dominated Hollywood television studio, a young, ambitious Latina finds a job and her own voice, with help of a new, and unlikely friend. It’s a case of art imitating life, with the art winning out."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Recommended
"..."Fade" is a small play and only about one year old, so presumably Saracho is still open to burnishing her script. In other productions the playing time has been listed as any from 90 to 100 minutes long, suggesting that some of the show's movable parts have been adjusted. The strengths of the play are the rapport between Lucia and Abel and the sharp-eyed but not vitriolic exploration of ethnic conflicts. Find a more plausible ending and "Fade" should be just fine."
The Hawk Chicago - Recommended
"...The narrative is clearly the star of the show, but the acting is commendable as well. Played by Sari Sanchez (Lucia) and Eddie Martinez (Abel), the performers do a fantastic job of bringing energy to Ms. Saracho’s dialogue. The characters are expressive and full of life, which complement the tone and pace of the narrative. However, I personally felt as if aspects of the actor’s ranges were not dynamic enough to really sell both the major pivotal scenes and the quieter moments in the narrative. At the climax of the play, I could not help but feel as if the outrage expressed by one character closely mimicked the same character’s outrage in a previous scene where the stakes were much, much lower. This example is representative of some smaller moments in the narrative as well, but such instances are amongst a backdrop of incredibly powerful scenes and can easily be forgiven. Despite the climax feeling lackluster, the ultimate conclusion does not disappoint."
NewCity Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"..."Fade" is a West Coast play that, with its highly specific reference to LA geography and entertainment industry follies, doesn't travel particularly well. What almost but not quite redeems the evening is the final scene, an unsentimental, non-histrionic moment of truth that is quick, clean and cold as ice. It shows what Saracho, Marquez and company are capable of when they stop toying with and "entertaining" us and simply cut to the chase."
