Native Gardens presented by Buffalo Theatre Ensemble at McAninch Arts Center

Daily Herald - Highly Recommended

"...The script describes the characters as smart and likable, but each possesses wince-inducing flaws that place them somewhere between irksome and agreeable. (Burke and Walker deftly walk that tightrope. So do Gomez and Tew, who hold their own opposite the veterans). Zacarías doesn't demonize them, instead she treats both couples fairly, providing explanations for their behavior but not excusing it."

Buzz Center Stage - Highly Recommended

"...Buffalo Theatre Ensemble's latest offering, Native Gardens by Karen Zacarias, is a riotous comedy that delves into the quirky world of suburban gardening and neighborly tiffs. The plot blossoms around two neighboring couples in Washington D.C. On one side, there's Pablo, a high-powered lawyer from Chile with a wealthy background, and his very pregnant wife, Tania, a doctoral candidate and avid gardener. They're ecstatic about transforming their new backyard into a vibrant native garden that attracts the right kind of insects that add to a healthy ecosystem. They are a younger couple, new to the neighborhood, with a bright future ahead."

PicksInSix - Highly Recommended

"...Karen Zacarías' "Native Gardens," a zippy comedy about a disagreement between new neighbors, is now playing in a Buffalo Theatre Ensemble production at the McAninch Arts Center through March 2. The audience sits just beyond two backyards - one tidy and well-manicured and the other unkempt-split by a flimsy chain link fence. Between the title and the visually stunning Mara Ishihara Zinky set, you may be wondering will the next 90 minutes be spent delving into these glaringly different attitudes toward yard work? Well, sort of."

NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...There’s a reason this story, although very simple, finds continual resurgence: The actors. Yes, Zacarías’ script is delightful, and it plumbs the contemporary zeitgeist, with snide jokes about Republicans and Democrats, the fence as a metaphor for border security and immigrants’ rights, and references to other hot topics of the epoch; but it’s the actors’ performances that make this production endearing."