Chicago Tribune
- Highly Recommended
"...Four Places is one of those splendid experiences wherein a new Chicago play seems to totally capture the complex, painful trajectories of a set of very ordinary lives. It’s something that the writers and actors of this city do uniquely well. And when one of them can forge a world as thoroughly credible and recognizable and raw as the one Johnson creates here, you never want to see a play in any other town."
Chicago Sun Times
- Highly Recommended
"...The communication between the siblings (long united in fending off "the common enemy") is priceless -- at times hilarious, but at other moments filled with deep anguish and pain. And it is a sense of loss, of course, that infuses everything in Peggy's dwindling life."
Daily Herald
- Recommended
"...One of the more poignant lines of the play is Warren's: 'I wish my mom and dad could help me.' It's a tough realization of adulthood that we're on our own and can no longer lean on the parents we depended on so much."
Chicago Reader
- Somewhat Recommended
"...In essence the production’s foundation is missing, necessitating a forced shift in tone from light comedy to not-quite-dark-enough tragedy somewhere around the halfway mark. The play’s finale, which should knock the air out of our lungs and send the characters into emotional oblivion, ends up leaving us with nothing more than the sort of bad taste that a good night’s sleep will eliminate. It’s a shame—a script this potent has a right to disturb."
Windy City Times
- Recommended
"...Bitter pill that it may be to swallow, Four Places makes for an effective family drama that is both funny yet ultimately devastating at the same time. It may not be a feel-good drama that you recommend to friends, but its uncomfortable universality is one that is undeniably effective."
Chicago Free Press
- Highly Recommended
"...This Victory Gardens world premiere deals with the emotional devastation of a modern family, and it is Johnson’s acute, stinging humor that ultimately makes the witnessed agony such an enjoyable theatrical experience."
EpochTimes
- Somewhat Recommended
"...The story unfolds slowly and director Sandy Shinner keeps the action moving at a pace that I found better than the script content. Jack Magaw's set is unique and quite serviceable- the car, the waiting area of the restaurant, the actual dining are of the restaurant and the ladies bathroom are the four places where the action takes place and Shinner works these four places to perfection."
Copley News Service
- Highly Recommended
"...Sandy Shinner directs with unerring insight and sensitivity. The production effectively makes use of the theater turntable to rotate among the various settings of the action. Jack Magaw’s set features blowups of old photos in the background that imply younger and happier days for the disintegrating family. Carol J. Blanchard designed the costumes, Avraham Mor the lighting, and Andre Pluess the sound."
Time Out Chicago
- Recommended
"...Taking place in real time, this hour-and-a-half drama that starts and ends in a car may be familiar in its subject, but it’s never unwelcome. Although he occasionally strains credibility—the part of an overly friendly waitress is the least convincing—the writer understands the terror of mundane conversation and uses it to his advantage. Shinner’s work with her actors, particularly steely Thalken as a dutiful daughter at wit’s end, is focused and gimmick-free, even if the use of a turntable to rotate the stage is not."
ChicagoCritic
- Recommended
"...Mary Ann Thebus is a marvel to behold as she commands the stage as the “every mom.” Thebus moves deftly from spot on comedy to earthy pathos. Peter Burns and Meg Thalken effectively convey their pent-up tension as the children desperate to avoid a family crisis. They sincerely want to do the right thing. Jennifer Avery, as the waitress, sweeps in and out offering comic relief."
