Sordid Lives presented by Easy Street Players at Athenaeum Theatre

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...With its queer sensibility, giddy disdain for decorum, and strong female characters in dire straits, the piece at its best feels like a Bible Belt version of an Almodovar film. Dan Tursi's extremely loose production for the Easy Street Players doesn't always capture the play's trashy verve--except in the performances by female cast members, each of whom makes her character a big-haired force of nature."

Windy City Times - Somewhat Recommended

"...Even in small-town Texas it’s simply impossible for people to be as stupid and trashy as in Sordid Lives. But that’s what makes this show funny, at least in parts, and perhaps a gut-buster if you’re actually Texan. The problem is that it’s not a good play."

Gay Chicago Magazine - Somewhat Recommended

"...Sordid Lives” is not for everybody. The production values are rough. The Southern accents are uneven. But if one greatly enjoyed the movie, you might be interested in seeing how it works onstage. Though the adaptation of the movie is fairly well-written, I left the theatre with one white-trash burning question: Why was this stage adaptation, along with my Grandma’s rhubarb pie, ever created?"

Time Out Chicago - Not Recommended

"...The frustrating thing about Southern-fried spoofs like Sordid Lives (or the far more detestable two-man fiasco Greater Tuna) is that their guaranteed-laughs pitches, not their quality, tend to keep them in circulation for years. Even more annoying is how often a string of gags and wacky situations like this gets pegged as satirical when it’s little more than a freak show."