Funeral Wedding: The Alvin Play presented by The Strange Tree Group at Signal Ensemble Theatre

Chicago Tribune - Recommended

"...The production falls adrift at times, particularly in the middle - the dysfunctional family issues and the murder mystery at the story's center don't quite generate the right kind of narrative momentum. Yet I found it impossible not to get lost within this little world, where every prop, costume and sardonic sidelong glance helps to generate the feeling that you're watching a storybook fairy tale brought to life."

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...The titular, traumatized Alvin took to his attic bedroom a year ago, after two young sisters were beaten and stabbed to death in the neighborhood. He's been content to make paper flowers and hallucinate a mandolin-playing confidant since then, but his refuge is threatened by the engagement of his beloved (and I mean, beloved) sister to a suspicious doctor. There's a lot of charm to Jess McLeod's staging, but also a disappointing vagueness. The play concentrates so hard on flourishes that it lets rudimentary narrative elements slip. That includes the ending, which is ambiguous to a fault."

Windy City Times - Highly Recommended

"...Audiences who love whimsy and the macabre heavily blended together are strongly advised not miss Strange Tree Group's world premiere of Emily Schwartz's Funeral Wedding: The Alvin Play at Signal Ensemble Theatre. Schwartz also strings audiences along with the promise of a mystery to be unraveled, though by the end of the play, what's revealed might not be all that certain or pleasing to ponder."

WBEZ - Recommended

"...Imagine Rashomon in middle America - albeit a deeply skewed version of middle America. Scott Davis's scenic design conjures up the attic refuge of Alvin, the son who knows the truth but is determined to hide out from it. As absorbing to watch as it is impossible to describe, Funeral Wedding is equal parts creepy and spooky, mysterious and ooky, plus a heaping helping of charming."

ChicagoCritic - Recommended

"...Filled with much sexual fantasy and twisted characterizations, Funeral Wedding: The Alvin Play is refreshingly different in structure and content. It still contains enough quirkiness to be pleasing. In a tighter, more streamlined script, this production still delivers a strange, nonintoxicating likable and thoroughly entertaining show. It evokes Edward Gorey, Tim Burton and Charles Addams. Daniel Behrendt's performance was empathetic and honest. Come see the quirky stage craft and imaginative storytelling by Emily Schwarz and her crew at The Strange Tree Group. Funeral Wedding: The Alvin is a well-crafted Gothic mystery worth seeing."