Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...Donnelly is not especially interested in the reason for the suicide — he's painting more of a portrait of grief, something akin to David Lindsay-Abaire's far-superior work "The Rabbit Hole," except that the pain is made all the more acute by the bereaved parents' inability to comfort each other, given the complexity of their ongoing relationship (or lack thereof). The third character in this triangular drama is, in fact, the new husband of the bereaved mother. And thus you have three adults in pain all trying to navigate their way through an impossible time of their lives."
Chicago Sun Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...The tone is just decidedly wrong here in too many ways, with the comic leavening provided by Rebecca's second husband, the tragicomic but talkative Englishman, Roger (the terrific Raymond Fox, whose opening and closing monologues are deftly written, and superbly performed), amusing, but artificial. The only thing that even partially rings true here is that a certain chemistry between Edward and Rebecca continues to emit sparks, and that Nolan has conveniently kept his current girlfriend far from the gathering."
Windy City Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...Fortunately for Donnelley, the Midwest premiere of his play arrives under the auspices of the Route 66 Theatre Company, with Kimberly Senior directing Lia Mortensen, Stef Tovar and Raymond Fox. In a text where characters express sentiments like Edward's nostalgic fantasy—arising as he assists in cleaning out the last habitat of his maritally disruptive offspring—invoking a placid lake with "no wake" to disturb its pristine surface, before Rebecca brandishes a relic of an idyllic infancy and persuades him that turbulence is beneficial, the expertise exhibited by these artists toward sustaining our interest in the musings of adolescents posing as adults for 80 intermissionless minutes is almost enough to make us forget poor Roger, waiting at home to be abandoned once again."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...Donnelly's play has some smart observations about grief, particularly about the ways it can guiltily intermingle with the relief of obtaining final closure on a difficult relationship. And for the attendant waves of emotion to at least temporarily rekindle old intimacy between Rebecca and Edward feels plausible. But there's something surfacey about the proceedings, with the former couple so readily accessing and articulating their feelings about their daughter and each other as to feel rehearsed. You end up feeling mostly bad for Roger, the stand-up guy left in the wake of circumstances."
Stage and Cinema - Somewhat Recommended
"...Overall, the acting is persuasive enough. The blocking is less effective: All too inset, Brian Sidney Bembridge's picture-frame set provides terrible sightlines for anyone sitting house right. Too often there's no view for No Wake."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...But as long as No Wake is a play, with all the requisite logical breakdown of characters and units of action, Route 66's production is an opportunity to see some of Chicago's best actors doing their finest work. Actually, the brutal dissection of emotions typically treated with extreme sensitivity might be the point, after all."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Somewhat Recommended
"...I look at director Kimberly Senior and the cast of Fox, Tovar, and Lia Mortensen and I see very talented people working hard to keep a play afloat. But this play lost me because I couldn't care about any of them. Kudos to Brian Sidney Bembridge's set design which utilized the color blue to the point that every actor seemed like they were walking on water the entire time, but the play still sunk. I wanted this play to work. I want this play to work. If it works, it should be a play that provides an audience with the death of a horrible person and then lets them watch as people struggle to grieve. Instead it provides the death of a mysterious person that I am left to feel sorry for as I watch people badmouth them through their grief."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Route 66, one of my favorite companies, known as a company that introduces, develops and produces new works to the stage is presenting another GEM to open their 2016 season, a season dedicated to Dr. Harlan Haimes, a gentle soul and guiding light to this company through its early years. This wonderful little story, “No Wake”, now having its Midwest Premiere at The Greenhouse Theater Center (their new home) written by William Donnelly and smoothly directed by Kimberly Senior is a marvelous look at what happens when a divorced couple find themselves brought together by a tragedy in life that affects them both."
Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended
"...The new year begins here with a thoughtful and poignant drama about three people trying to navigate their lives, despite a blow of unwelcome grief. The tragedy that reunites Edward and Rebecca forces these two strong, but damaged souls to come together, first because of their united love of their daughter, but ultimately because of an unexpected mutual attraction that still exists. In the aftermath of a failed marriage, it’s the ties that bind these two together that forces them to stop, look back and then cope with what still lies ahead."
The Fourth Walsh - Somewhat Recommended
"...Although Fox exhibits a range of over-the-top emotional outbursts, Tovar and Mortensen do not. Director Kimberly Senior keeps their performances understated especially Tovar. In the first scene, Tovar nicely contrasts Fox’s frenzy. Later, we are waiting for his bottled-up emotion to erupt. It never does. Tovar even has a line referencing the play title about not making waves. His delivery may be a ‘still waters run deep’ focus but that choice keeps the audience from caring about these people. As we discover more sad tidbits about the daughter, Tovar and Mortensen respond with increasing flirtation. Their casual grieving as parents is disconcerting. At one point, Fox explains Mortensen is confused. Really? I don’t see it. For a couple angry at each other, Tovar and Mortensen are fairly amicable which make them not terribly likable for the audience."
Chicago Theater Beat - Somewhat Recommended
"...Donnelly meticulously, exasperatingly, reveals all this as slowly as possible - apparently desperately trying to avoid any dialogue that could sound too theatrically expository. It's 20 minutes or so into this short (80 minute) play before we have any idea where it's going, and even then, we learn it's not going much of anywhere. That's not to say there isn't a point to it."
NewCity Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...The whole thing has a way of feeling rather like a parent’s attempt at getting their child to feel bad for stealing when in fact the culprit is really only sad about getting caught. While “No Wake” contains much emotion, it is very seldom emotional."
