Fatboy at A Red Orchid Theatre

Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended

"...One could certainly see how this played well in Scotland — where its implicit social commentary on the excesses of American life would have resonance. And to bury political commentary in scatological and sex gags certainly is a distinctive mode of operation. But despite the laughs and some received wisdom, I found "Fatboy" ultimately tiresome. I suspect you'll figure out where it is going and arrive there before the nasty fat people."

Chicago Sun Times - Somewhat Recommended

"...Director Guy Van Swearingen keeps the whole circus spinning at full throttle, with Doug Vickers, John Luzar and Mark Vallarta adding to the hijinks. But while 20 minutes of this stuff might be a hoot, 100 minutes (including a heartfelt epilogue) is deadening. "Fatboy" could do with a serious diet."

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...At times Clancy hammers home the evident but unassailable truth “Power always wins” with more indulgence than ingenuity, and his final act, when Fatboy nearly gets his comeuppance, feels superfluous (a problem exacerbated by the sudden slackening of Guy Van Swearingen’s otherwise taut direction). But the feebleminded, childlike, menacing creations of Steve Pickering and Jennifer Engstrom as Fatboy and Fudgie are thrillingly entertaining and disturbingly human. The well-earned cynicism of Pickering’s brutal closing monologue could keep you up nights."

Chicago Free Press - Recommended

"...In Guy Van Swearingen’s unapologetic staging no blow is too low, and the trash talk takes on its own glorious excess. For all his crimes against humanity, Fatboy is nothing if not honest."

Time Out Chicago - Recommended

"...It’s also funny as hell, thanks to a merrily metatheatrical self-consciousness (as when Fatboy complains during his trial that he’s being upstaged: “I am Fatboy, and I am titular!”) and blithe profanity (“my enemies, a cabal of cock-sucking whores, lash out at me even here!”). The game Pickering, sweating his balls off in an enormous fat suit, is terrifically offensive, and we mean that as a compliment, but he’s nearly outshone in repellency by Engstrom’s virtuosic bitch. They’re both great."

ChicagoCritic - Not Recommended

"...The performances are strong and the production values excellent---it’s the writing I found to be shallow, incoherent and redundant. The players worked hard to maintain the comic edge using physical antics and shouting for effect. Too bad they so little to work with. Fatboy needs a purge and an enema."