Pakalolo Sweet presented by Nothing Without a Company at Berger Park Coach House

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...The semilegal pursuit of growing pot, with its structural flaw of employees abusing the product, is convincingly evoked. But the oblique references to mental illness aren't developed fully enough to warrant the play's jarringly abrupt conclusion. This piece is the second part of a trilogy but doesn't feel complete enough to stand on its own. I wished afterward that li-Epstein had canned the karaoke party and used that half hour to answer the many questions posed by what could one day be a compelling piece of theater."

Windy City Times - Recommended

"...Director Rachel Slavick and cultural specialist Lanialoha Lee have crafted a realistic setting, perfect for an immersive production. Pakalolo Sweet insists you come in, play some cards and shoot the breeze. Their casual party is so enticing and respectful, even rigid introverts are tempted onto Junior Boy's front porch. This atmosphere works until the fourth wall is raised, and reality sets in. The actors race to demonstrate their guilt and frustrations before their world comes apart, but their motivations feel more necessitated by the story than character proclivities."

Around The Town Chicago - Somewhat Recommended

"...Saturday night's performance of "Pakalolo Sweet" at the Berger Park Cultural Center successfully transported the audience to a beachfront location in modern Hawaii. Chicago's weather cooperated fully! The temperature outside was in the high 70s, a perfect Hawaiian evening. Inside the coach house of this former mansion, the beautifully-set interior, tastefully designed by Mark J. Bracken Jr., melded with the outdoors to reveal a view of Lake Michigan. The city by the lake now became the shores of an island, complete with serene ocean waves."