Ephemera presented by Polarity Ensemble Theatre at Josephinum Academy

Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended

"...Narratively there is very little going on here, and though the entire design team has outdone themselves — everything is geometric and painted in shades of blue — ultimately the play feels like a concept in search of a story."

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...Composed of quick, nonlinear scenes and frequent asides to the audience, the script lacks a proper balance between its zany, metaphysical, and maudlin impulses. Still, Lewis Lain's cerulean cardboard set and props have a sophisticated playtime look, and Bob Wilson gives the ship's commander a hilarious, empty-headed certainty reminiscent of George W. Bush."

Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended

"...Wissel’s script was developed in-house as part of Polarity’s Dionysos Cup Festival of New Plays, and while the company’s enthusiasm for it is palpable, Wissel remains painfully vague on key questions, from how the crew arrived on the Ephemera to what, exactly, is the terrifying but wholly unexplained menace out in space. The haziness makes the jokes feel cheap and the characters’ struggle to survive insincere, rendering it less a play on genre than an indistinct genre play."

Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended

"...Even the comedy’s non-linear story structure, replete with dropped-in asides from the characters, instills repetitive and nonsensical time loops in the action. Wissel’s comedy matches the flukiness of Douglas Adams’ or even Tom Robbins’ novels. At the heart of its highly randomized exposition is a workplace comedy, where work is very definitely not the issue but getting along with the quirks of one’s co-workers is. For the most part, the non-linear storytelling is very successful—only in the second act does it begin to wear itself out as a MacGuffin. However, Sturm’s cast is spot-on in pace, timing and delivery—a factor made all the more exacting by the production’s technical elements. Plus, artist lewis lains’ set design and further art installations create a great space for the cast’s gentle and gracious finale that brings the show home clean, clear and truthful. If a little more editing could be employed, Ephemera just might takes its place in the stars among its illustrious space comedy forebears."