Ruby Wilder presented by Not Waiting Productions at CIC Theater

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...It could be cheap pulp or bad Sam Shepard, but playwright Brooke Allen's myriad plot twists and psychological switchbacks provide moments of great drama--moments that might have jelled into a great play had Allen trusted her story and characters. Instead, she overloads on metatheatrical quirks (a disillusioned narrator, a ballerina ghost, a televised version of Ruby talking to the real Ruby), muddying and cheapening an ingenious tale. Directing for Not Waiting Productions, Allen would do well to notice that her capable cast are convincing only when the gimmicks vanish."

Windy City Times - Recommended

"...Amid Allen-as-author's mosaic manipulations, their tightly-focused gravity gradually earns our emotional investment in the outcome of a whodunit that expands into whats and whys, its moral ambiguity increasing as facts come to light. And isn't that the way such seemingly cut-and-dried crimes always finish nowadays?"

Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended

"...Allen’s staging lacks the precision and nuance her own script requires. Scene transitions are often clumsy, and the cast, though earnest, fails to build an atmosphere of menace. As Ruby, Cowden is certainly fiery, but the character’s vulnerability eludes her. Ultimately, it’s a case of a good story only passably told."