Sunday Evening Reviews
Chicago Reader- Somewhat Recommended
"...This fragmentation works, to a point, to portray how the characters' lives are disintegrating. But the current production, as directed by Zlatomir Moldovanski in the inaugural production of the Rose Valley Theatre Group, can't seem to keep up with the play. The tempo of the show opening night felt off, with some scenes passing too quickly, and others plodding along at a purgatorial pace. Some of the acting is stiff and pedestrian, with line deliveries that don't capture the full depth of feeling behind them."
Windy City Times- Highly Recommended
"...For this flagship production of the Rose Valley Theatre Group ( performing under sponsorship of the Magura Cultural Center ), artistic director Zlatomir Moldovanski has assembled a company reflecting a level of skill diverging sharply from the stilted classroom stylistics too often associated with this genre. A cast led by Logan Hulick as the volatile Nick, Rachel Sepiashvili as the smoldering Rose and Maria Margaglione as the resigned Stella lend Karabashliev's discourse on the pursuit of happiness a colloquial grace and verisimilitude applicable to pilgrims of every country, culture, and social stratum."
Around The Town Chicago- Somewhat Recommended
"...Originally written in Bulgarian—and for the first time presented in English—”Sunday Evening” by Zachary Karabashliev is a deep, dark tragedy about marriage, career, and the meaning of personal liberty peppered with coarse comedic and vulgar references. It is a story about conflict and about being conflicted. Though the drama is penetrating, its elements are too scattered, and the play doesn’t gel as it should. Cultural differences aside, it was a hard performance to critique in more ways than one."
Third Coast Review- Recommended
"...Sunday Evening runs about two hours with one intermission. The lead actors are strong ingredients for Moldovanski's production. Hulick is an energetic, irascible, thoroughly unlikable Nick-until the end. Margaglione's Stella is poignant and believable as a former actor, now a mother desperate to save her daughter. Sepiashvili as Rose represents a woman trapped in conflicting dreams."
Picture This Post- Recommended
"...Stella’s story unfolds like a raw onion. Every layer is enough to bring on the waterworks, and each one hides more and more tear jerking layers. At first, it’s the realization she is a washed up actor with desperate need to feel relevant. Then, it’s her daughter Jenny (Melanie McNulty) who is constantly hitting her up for money. Then there is the revelation about the drinking and the absentee parenting. Layer after layer, and by the end, Stella’s relationship with her junkie daughter, strained further by her husband (an important role that we never get to see on stage), is a catastrophe in slow motion. Atonement isn’t even an option. Stopping by neighbors Nick and Rose on a rainy Sunday Evening is the only available move."