How I Became an Interesting Person at Chicago Dramatists

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...Dunne certainly shows he can pile on the high jinks (bed-hopping, sleepwalking, a murder mystery), but zany doesn't equal funny, and more often than not the play is irritating rather than interesting. Russ Tutterow's staging for Chicago Dramatists has a cartoonish energy, but it doesn't help."

Windy City Times - Somewhat Recommended

"...Dunne piles on the visual and verbal gags, while weird character traits and plot twists get thrown in like afterthoughts to allow for extra quirkiness. It's all quite laugh-inducing, but oddly doesn't add up to much by the end."

Chicago Free Press - Recommended

"...Defeating winter gloom just got a bit easier courtesy of Chicago Dramatists’ joyful, life affirming “How I Became an Interesting Person”. With zany characterizations and unusual situations this comedy both mocks and embraces the stereotypes of self help books and charmingly revels in the people whose lives are forever altered by them."

Edge - Recommended

"...Director Russ Tutterow keeps the show moving a long at a good clip. That is good because at two hours HIBaIP seems a tad long for its weight. Still, overall, the cast’s enthusiasm and the shows’ natural charms overcome any restless butt syndrome. Much credit goes to Chelsea Meyers scenic design with its Mission-style simplicity and symmetry. It helps to give shape to this goofy-but-satisfying comedy."

Time Out Chicago - Not Recommended

"...Dunne employs a hodgepodge of incoherent storytelling devices and tired, mildly offensive sex jokes—women’s lady-parts are referred to as “frozen red snapper” and “cold box,” among other charming terms. Wayne’s single-gag neighbors are a gun-nut postal worker and a male stripper who works at “the TomCat Club,” which we’re pretty sure is ripped off from an episode of Gidget. Meanwhile, Tutterow’s production feels underthought and, most obviously in the case of otherwise-talented costume designer Kerith Wolf’s work, underfunded. There are infinitely more interesting ways to have spent this time."

ChicagoCritic - Not Recommended

"...The play might have worked if it was trimmed and focused on a short, smart look at the emergence of a nerd into an interesting person. I never bought how or why Drabowski would be attracted to a geriatric landlady. There simply aren’t enough funny lines or moments to sustain a full comedy."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended

"...If you have any trouble with excessive comedy, wind some surgical tape around your ribs before you leave for the theatre, you could easily break a couple of them laughing. These unpredictable characters form a zany crowd. No one seems to have a clue about how they appear to the outside world as they all strive to break out of their rut, just digging themselves deeper holes."