Naked Reviews

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...There are obvious 21st-century parallels to be drawn from the piece. It can be read as a feminist document, for instance, in that four of the people attempting to make Ersilia over in their image are men, while two women who start out doing it end up rallying around her. And the analogy to questions of selfhood on the Internet (just think about the phrase "identity theft") is a no-brainer. It's precisely because the parallels are obvious, though, that director Kay Martinovich was wise to play the material straight and in period. The resonances are richer that way, and the potential for solemn self-righteousness much reduced."

Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...To fully be understood by another person is impossible, but we've all had times when what we wanted more than anything was to be seen. When psychology was in its infancy, the great Italian playwright and short story author Luigi Pirandello was already grappling with this contradiction. Later, his interest in the mutability and context-dependent nature of identity would inspire the experimental theatre of Eugene Ionesco and Maria Irene Fornes, but his 1922 drama Vestri gli ignudi (Clothing the Naked or just Naked) presented characters who were basically realistic, albeit somewhat farcical. In that regard, it is a bit of an unusual pick for Trap Door Theatre, one of Chicago's most distinctive black box treasures. But thematically, it is right up their alley, and the production directed by Kat Martinovich is a madcap dark comedy as well as a psychological inquiry."

Third Coast Review - Recommended

"...Trap Door's production of Naked is engrossing and sometimes confusing, but Martinovich's direction is smooth. The cast is generally capable; we particularly liked the performances of Wilson as Nota and Rentea as the landlady. Nick Schwartz' design for the author's apartment is prototypical, with its piles of books and 33rpm record albums. Lighting is by David Goodman-Edberg and sound design by Evan Forbes. Costumes are by Rachel Sypniewski."

Picture This Post - Highly Recommended

"...Technically speaking, in this actor/playwright's view, this production serves up a simple elegance that accents everything beautifully. A single wrought iron chandelier, a middle class luxury, hanging between sturdy wood rafters, and still life paintings gilded in ornate gold frames are just a few finely tuned treats for this viewer that set designer Nicholas James Schwartz and props designer Jacqueline Frole provide."