Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...Marra is a talented and shrewd writer — "Motion," which is set around a fictional Cleveland team, seems inspired by the late-1990s TV series, "Sports Night," which had many fans, and there is more than a touch of Aaron Sorkin in the best parts of Marra's dry writing. Among the many amusing scenes is a press conference called after a potential first-round draft pick is caught being less than a credit to the game, in the grand tradition of many real recruits to the pros. The words of repentance that the character trots out are both absurd cliches and exactly the same vocabulary we hear every day on local sportscasts. All in all, this is an exceptionally clever and amusing script with plenty of laughs; it deserves a better, more truthful, faster-paced production."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Playwright Ronan Marra sets up such intricate, high-stakes relations among his main characters and lets things unravel so giddily that you needn't know anything about football to appreciate his dramatic ingenuity. Despite some flabby plotting in act two, Marra craftily explores how greed, ego, and stupidity conquer ethics. Aaron Snook's premiere staging is smart and convincing, though setting the action on a miniature football field is cheap and distracting."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...Motion crackles with rapid-fire, in-the-know dialogue reminiscent of both SportsCenter and Aaron Sorkin. You don’t have to understand what a pay escalator is to enjoy the taut volleys and parries, especially those between Diane (Meredith Bell Alvarez, satisfyingly blunt) and Drew (Joseph McCauley, showing finely detailed smugness). While it’s an imaginative slice of a life that few truly know but many speculate about, the play trains perhaps too wide a lens on the sport and its dissipation at the expense of a deeper interrogation into what—beyond fame, cash and a championship ring—drives these characters and fuels our acceptance of the blamelessness of sports stars. As a smart and entertaining microcosm of an outsized industry, though, it wins."
ChicagoCritic - Somewhat Recommended
"... Fans of Aaron Sorkin (who helped write the recent Moneyball) will delight in the dry dialogue and shrewdness of Motion’s skewering despite the production’s problems. For fans of football, there’s a lot of fun to be had in hearing the behind-the-scenes analysis, as college players must prove they can do more than have a powerful pass. It’d be even more gratifying, then, if these portraits could be as fully analyzed as the plays themselves so that when the stakes are high, we, the eager fans, feel we too have a stake in the outcome."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Somewhat Recommended
"..."Motion" reminds me of Beau Wilmon's superior drama "Farragut North" about the machinations of a political campaign, which got a solid Stage Left production last year. Willmon reworked the material as the screenplay for George Clooney's film "The Ides of March," and his work on real campaigns brings authenticity and tension to his writing. Marra's "Motion" - at this point in its development - does not yet feel authentic, nor give us enough reason to care about its high-living losers."
Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended
"...Playwright Ronan Marra pens a crisp, dialogue-based script. Marra’s game book is tight scenes playing off each other. The technical jargon adds a layer of wit. I’m a football novice (free Bears tickets or house party) fan. Even though I don’t quite understand the strategies, I get the intention. It’s clever and fun! Director Aaron Snook executes the plan with fluid movement. The ensemble are visibly sidelined until their scene or a scene transition. Snook keeps the pace dynamic. It’s a well-orchestrated team effort. The razor-sharp Meredith Alvarez (Bries) negotiates with an impressive flair. Alvarez continually shuts down aggravation with fast-talking intellect and dazzling patronization. Her quirky sidekick Bries Vannon charms with work-smarts and dating-dumbs. Vannon zings and dings with humor. Louisiana small-town sheriff Vincent Lonergan is hilarious with a mischievous drawl."
