Chicago Reader - Recommended
"...The script needs more ground rules and, though set in the present, projects an outdated sense of what's outrageous (homosexuality, women with libidos). But director Damian Arnold keeps things moving with verve and precision in this New Lincoln Theatre production. And, as a harried campaign aide, Adam Schulmerich maintains an impressive level of panic throughout."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...
Director Arnold, who helmed the Royal George’s Don’t Dress for Dinner, puts his gifted actors through arduous physical paces. Schulmerich stands out, maniacally leaping about the hotel-room set; he and Welsh-Phillips somehow turn their inevitable getting together into an actual event. But there’s really not a weak link in the cast: Maggie Graham’s tawdry mistress, Quinn White’s cross-dressing marine and Rob Grabowski’s slimy journalist all have a vibrant life. Even if Sex Marks the Spot is the kind of play you’d expect to see while dining on chicken Kiev, it offers up its formulas with a disarming theatrical faith."
ShowBizChicago - Recommended
"...Despite an unwarranted running time (the production runs a winded two hours), Grippo has assembled a remarkably tenacious ensemble to gambol through his gag bag. Under the rapidly sharp direction of Damian Arnold, Schulmerich and Welsh-Phillips expressly make their own jocular marks as the hassled campaign managers. It is the young ensemble that ultimately procures the unchecked buoyancy often needed to keep the production on its air."
ChicagoCritic - Not Recommended
"...There are many reasons for Sex Marks the Spot’s failure: the sophomoric writing, the stereotypical shallow characters, the spotty delivery of punch lines and the unlikeable main character. Other than women running around in sexy negligee, this show is not sexy or risque enough to titillate – we don’t believe the groping is real. The Detective, Wally Sommers and Desiree characters were more irritating than funny. When a farce doesn’t work it plays out as a silly manic failure. Too bad all the efforts by the dedicated cast were wasted."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended
"...The major hurdle Grippo and Arnold encounter is length. "Sex Marks The Spot" is a loose 2 hours, and would be better served as a tight 90 minutes. The first act successfully set up the conflict, but the second act did not know what to do with itself. There were two extended scenes, while somewhat moving the action, which ultimately hurt the pace. The strength of "Sex Marks The Spot" lies in the passion for the material exuded by the cast. They had so much fun doing the play that I had fun watching it. Tony Fiorentino deserves kudos for the commitment and stamina he gave Senator Clooney. Special praise must also be given to Adam Schulmerich and Kieran Welsh-Phillips for giving the "straight" characters honest characterizations that I cared about."
Chicago Theater Beat - Not Recommended
"... It’s not the sex, or the sexualization, it’s the total lack of power and credibility this character has, and the information that the audience is supposed to take for granted, that makes for an extremely uncomfortable night of theater. Sex Marks the Spot is intended to be a comedy, but ultimately this is a play that is too far removed from humanity to parody the human condition."
