Sagittarius Ponderosa Reviews
Chicago Reader- Highly Recommended
"...MJ Kaufman's play—receiving its Chicago premiere at Redtwist Theatre under James Fleming's direction—is note-perfect in showing how often people talk past each other, speaking only of their own desires and hearing only what they want to hear without ever truly listening. Even when Archer meets a stranger in the woods (Christopher Acevedo) and begins a covert affair, neither lover can see the other for much more than what they need them to be."
Windy City Times- Somewhat Recommended
"...Sagittarius Ponderosa is stuffed with unfulfilled possibilities despite a more-than-competent production. A work of magic realism, it seems an exercise in style and technique rather than focused on character or story."
NewCity Chicago- Somewhat Recommended
"...Where the words least heard are “I love you” and your own name, that may be true. Intimacy remains elusive in “Sagittarius Ponderosa,” only accessible in mundane and temporary acts—discussing the growth habits of trees and garden vegetables or reading about the weddings of other people in the newspaper. Both poignant and distressing is the use of a papier-mâché puppet (animated by Parry) to represent Peterson, Grandma’s nursing home buddy. So much remains unspoken, under pressure to emerge in an unseen spring, in a play that inches from winter to winter."