Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...These observational works require detailed and vulnerable acting, and that is what director Cody Estles’ production delivers. The acting is uniformly strong: not pretentiously so, but rich and true and needy. I was especially moved by Peebles, who doesn’t minimize a la Casey Affleck, but more goes for it, a la Michelle Williams. But really, the whole ensemble is excellent. Better yet, the setting goes beyond what you normally find at Theater Wit: Jeffrey D. Kmiec has come up with a warped, forced-perspective environment that enriches the sense of arrested adult lives, trying to find solid ground."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...The result is an emotionally rich look at dreams pursued, dreams denied, and the struggle to forge a life of value (and values) in this country. The political is unquestionably personal here, and Bonds’ rendering of her characters’ inner turmoil — richly enhanced by Cody Estle’s direction of an ideally cast ensemble — suggests just how painful it makes the negotiation of both familial and romantic relationships."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...A series of confrontations reveals why each of these five aging young people feels so frustrated, but none of their personalities are particular or compelling enough for the audience to want to see their frustrations relieved."
Chicago On the Aisle - Recommended
"...Rachel Bonds' play "Five Mile Lake," a provocative slice of life currently held up for examination by Shattered Globe Theatre, is about lives out of kilter, out of perspective, out of pitch. Before the play even begins, Jeffrey D. Kmiec's disorienting set tells you as much."
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...Aching with quiet winter desperation, Estle’s slow and steady staging of Bonds’ undramatic but evocative encounters rings true. All five performances honor the characters’ very diverse dead ends and self-defeating “best choices.” No laugh riot for millennial escapists, Five Mile Lake is too honest to indulge in false nostalgia. And it sure knows how old friends repeat the wrong feelings and siblings turn their unshared pasts into psychic weapons. In these 90 minutes expect no shocks of the unknown."
Around The Town Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...Unfortunately, I found Shattered Globe's production of "Five Mile Lake" to be kind of boring. I found myself zoning out a couple of times during the show. The problem - there was no real conflict, which is essential for good drama. Although there were a couple of spots with a little bit of push-pull - in the end, nothing happened, nobody changed and there were no lessons learned."
Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended
"...Shattered Globe's latest offering is much like eavesdropping on a bunch of young people who, like each of us, are struggling to make sense of their lives. Audiences may forget that they're even watching a play at all, so honest and realistic is this drama. Not much takes place but, ever so subtly, comes observation, understanding, new decisions and those small, meaningful changes that make living life so compelling and worth taking the journey with others by our side."
The Fourth Walsh - Somewhat Recommended
"...Under the steady direction of Cody Estle, we feel the tedium of daily life in a small town. At the cafe, Colucci and Peebles methodically wipe down chairs, talk hockey verses ice skating and line up muffins. Although the cheerful Peebles seems to find purpose in their rhythm and banter, Colucci shows a growing irritation toward him and each muffin requiring her attention. When the suave Weins shows up unexpectedly, the routine is interrupted."
Third Coast Review - Recommended
"...In Five Mile Lake, playwright Rachel Bonds tells the story of five young people and the small Pennsylvania town where they have connections. Shattered Globe Theatre’s new production, directed by Cody Estle, portrays their dreams and despair sympathetically, in amusing, sometimes eloquent conversations. Estle moves the 90-minute play along smoothly to show the desires and paths chosen by each."
Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended
"...The acting here is superb. Peebles is a perfect Everyman as Jamie, the sweet soul who works hard, is faithful to his family, and wants the girl, but has no idea how to get her. He is gentle and friendly for most of the play, but it’s when the script allows him to be sarcastic or angry that he shows what he’s made of: those emotions, filtered through Jamie’s overall demeanor, are difficult to play, yet Peebles does so without missing a beat."
Picture This Post - Somewhat Recommended
"...FIVE MILE LAKE might not be for those who are looking for an action packed play or one that delves into highly complicated issues. Nonetheless, it’s a good pick for anyone who can relate to issues of pressure from relationships or suffocating from a small town."
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...It's a coming-of-age story as much as it is a well-executed and thought-out commentary on the expectations people put on themselves, as well as those around them. The unified cast manages to capture stagnation and quiet distress with a precise touch."
