Mary's Wedding presented by Rivendell Theatre Ensemble at Raven Theatre

Chicago Tribune - Recommended

"...The Rivendell Theatre Ensemble’s simple new production, directed by Mark Ulrich without great flash but also without falling prey to the temptations of excessive sentiment, benefits greatly from the presence of Cassandra Bissell, an actress for whom intellectual inquiry is invariably as present as the exposure of her heart. Bissell’s take on the role of Mary doesn’t so much involve tearing her heart out and gushing with emotion as wrinkling her brow and trying to understand the sudden rush of competing feelings."

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...It's impossible to overpraise Mark Ulrich's perfect Rivendell Theatre Ensemble production of a captivating script. Stephen Massicotte's powerfully poetic play employs the strategic repetition of certain phrases in different contexts to create a 90-minute meditation on love's value and war's cost."

Time Out Chicago - Recommended

"...The story is slight in Canadian playwright Massicotte’s 2002 play. Airy tragedy is telegraphed from the second Mary meets Charlie cowering from a thunderstorm: This one’s a tearjerker. But for all the irksomely predictable elements of old-fashioned courtship (Charlie and Mary fall in love as he escorts her home on his horse. What will Mother think?), the tale is genuinely affecting."

ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended

"...This wonderful tearjerker nicely blends Mary’s dream related memories of her first love that haunts her as she struggles to come to grips with her first love on the eve of her marriage in 1920. There was hardly a dry eye at the show’s end. This tragic tale is beautifully acted as we quickly get to admire Charlie heroism while we empathize with Mary’s heartbreak and her genuine goodness. Mary’s Wedding is a tour de force for Shane Kenyon and Cassandra Bissell. Don’t miss this romantically powerful drama."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended

"...This is what theatre is about. A brilliantly written piece reflecting true to heart relationships and what is needed to be done to work through obstacles to reach the one you love. Tears welled up in my eyes on many occasions due to the performances, first and foremost by Cassandra Bissell (Mary) and the quirky Shane Kenyon (Charlie). Their attention to each other, details, beats, and most importantly love, is what made the show one of the greatest masterpieces I have seen."

Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended

"...The audience must slog through 30 minutes of that before finally getting on to the war. Once there, creaky exposition comes across more like cliff notes to Canada’s participation in the Great War than any young man’s authentic first person experience. Trenches, lice, poison gas—even “my first kill”—gets ticked off like a laundry list. Throw in Gordan Muriel Flowerdew and the Battle of Moreuil Wood and you’ve got something that will easily serve as a Canadian after-school-special."