Beggars In The House Of Plenty at Angel Island Theater

Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended

"...the performances here are worth seeing, particularly Daniel Behrendt as Joey, a swaggering, unpredictable force who is charming and dicey and ultimately crushed by forces that Shanley (Carlo Lorenzo Garcia, tender and rough around the edges) was better equipped to escape. Mary Jo Bolduc plays Ma, and she has just the right flat accent and abrasiveness."

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...John Patrick Shanley channels Christopher Durang's surreal, bizarrely comic style in a 1991 autobiographical play spanning multiple decades in the lives of "Johnny" and his family."

Windy City Times - Recommended

"...Even if the script presents an uneven tone of satire and seriousness that sometimes slips the grasp of the cast, you have to admire how they throw themselves into their roles and wrench out tortured emotions. Behrendt's Joey is particularly effective, straddling both the tough guy stance demanded of most men while teetering on emotional collapse while seeking his father's approval. Bolduc's worrying Ma offers great comic relief."

Time Out Chicago - Recommended

"...Beggars could very easily be precious or sink under the weight of its Freudian clichés, but in the hands of Shanley (better known as the author of the wildly divergent Moonstruck and Doubt) the material is both funny and, in its depiction of the family’s hopeless inability to connect, unexpectedly poignant."

ChicagoCritic - Recommended

"...Carlo Lorenzo Garcia, Karl Potthoff and Daniel Behrendt anchor the excellent ensemble. This play will shake your world."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended

"...The Mary Arrchie Theatre, famous for controversial and hard-hitting works, presents "Beggars in the House of Plenty," a story delving into Shanley’s early years that has him actually going back and retracing his steps and reliving some of the moments he wished had turned out differently. Kevin Christopher Fox directs, immediately after receiving critical acclaim for directing Stephen Adly Giurgis’ comic and profound "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot". Fox reveals that John Patrick Shanley is not the kind of writer whose art imitates life. Instead he utilizes the forces of creativity to unlock the strength and sense of perspective vital to bear the burden of his unpleasant memories."