Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"... Working under the direction of PJ Paparelli, Rifai has the tough assignment of playing all these characters and this skilled, genuine actress has many powerful and moving moments. But on occasion, she tends to fall into the trap of making her characters seem like performers — they all press their ideas or personalities upon you —rather than people simply talking to another concerned individual. Projects like this need that crucial sense of intimate revelation, and the characters require more precise, distinguishing details than they all get here, much honest work notwithstanding. William Boles' setting — which gorgeously evokes the dignity and fragility of rural Pennsylvania — is certainly enveloping. And as horrible as the matter under discussion surely was, there is a lesson there for all."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"... Rifai gives a riveting performance in a play that requires both an extraordinary depth of emotional understanding and an exceptional level of pure technique. And Dickey’s 70-minute work, a little masterpiece of insight and concision, authenticity and high theatricality, gives her plenty to feed on."
Centerstage - Somewhat Recommended
"... Rifai plays several different characters, including the killer’s widow, an Amish girl, and various other residents of the town. She also plays the killer himself, always shrouded in darkness with ominous music playing. This production is enamored of its own seriousness. It’s also odd that she wears Amish dress throughout, despite the fact that most of the characters are not Amish. The play spends a lot of time fetishizing these peaceful, salt of the earth folk. There are a number of well written moments, particularly the depiction of the widow struggling with her dead husband’s crime. However, I lost what respect I had for the play when it was revealed that the cute little Amish girl was not a survivor but one of the murder victims and she is piously speaking to us from the great beyond."
Chicago Stage Review - Highly Recommended
"...Director PJ Paparelli opens American Theater Company’s 27 th Season with one of the year’s most thought-provoking and emotionally evocative plays. He and his creative team make a remarkable connection to the artistry and the reality of this story that is obviously personal to them. By honoring the humanity of this devastating incident, they further facilitate the collective healing and realize an amazing theatrical achievement on the process."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"... The resulting play hits some hiccups—hearing Rifai as Eddie describing his fetishized view of Amish girls’ dress feels unnecessarily sensational—but Dickey’s focus on the Amish impulse to forgive first, grieve second, and the non-Amish locals’ bafflement, builds powerfully. Rifai, wearing traditional Amish garb as she switches among characters that also include an Amish-expert professor who serves as the community’s spokesman and two fictional Nickel Mines residents, infuses them all with vibrancy and honesty, even if her work to distinguish their voices and physicalities shows through a bit too clearly."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"... The shooting scenes and the visit by the Amish to the shooter’s family was terrifically presented and acted by Miss Rifai. If the nonessential clutter would be trimmed, The Amish Project would moves us deeper especially in the skilled handsofSadieh Rifai. Note: the Amish women designed and madethedress MissRifai wears during the show."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Somewhat Recommended
"... Director PJ Paparelli makes great use of the ATC space, but the effect of watching the actor assume the very badly stitched costume (which the program note lets us know was made by an unaccredited Amish woman) added to the sense that this story was being acted, not lived. Only the sequence of the shooting itself demonstrated the masterful storytelling that Paparelli, Rifai and the designers needed throughout to make us care for the members of the community that day."
Chicago Theater Beat - Highly Recommended
"... The Amish Project is my favorite thing about theatre. It tells a story from multiple creative perspectives. The American Theatre Company team actually went to Nickel Mines to research the story, and this comprehensive approach to producing the show is apparent. The Amish Project is authentic and moving. Fall 2011 is offering a plethora of fantastic theatre options (see our upper left-hand ‘recommended list’). It would be easy to overlook a little Amish show. And that would be a huge mistake. The Amish Project is unique, uplifting, and unforgettable. YOU should see it!"
