Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...There are glimpses of existential crisis. In the most compelling moment of the show, Kupferer's Roger tells a younger man that he is going to die. The young man protests that is a statement of the obvious, but Roger insists that there is a precise moment in your life when this recognition of imminence seeps into your bones, and then cannot be shaken off ever again. It's Edward Albee-esque in the shivers it provokes; and at the show I saw Saturday night, the shivers were not all male."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...She brings a good deal of subtle craft, and Chicago detail, to "Support Group for Men." It's a character-driven work, which means that it advances less by narrative motion and mostly by revealing more about the characters. There's just enough of a story to enable revelation and a soupçon of transformation."
Daily Herald - Somewhat Recommended
"...Ellen Fairey's contemporary new comedy "Support Group for Men" is an undeniable love letter to Chicago, the kind of Goodman Theatre show where local audiences can chortle away at choice Windy City references that double up as punchlines."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Fairey's script is far too pat and ingratiating to matter much. It's also dated, referencing old Chicago news like the gentrification of Wicker Park. The cast, however, manages to be delightful-especially an impish Keith Kupferer as Roger. Set designer Jack Magaw has made a masterpiece of a north-side apartment. And a vignette involving illicit drugs gives Senior the chance to take everything to another level. At least temporarily."
Chicago On the Aisle - Highly Recommended
"...“Support Group for Men” is a smart play, directed – I’m inclined to say conducted – by one of Chicago’s best, Kimberly Senior, whose unfailing ear for psychological nuance tells in this production’s menu of pace and space. (The visual space is the distinctively Chicago apartment designed by Jack Magaw.)"
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Recommended
"...Support Group For Men is a play that wants to deconstruct male insecurities, especially about sex and gender, it's a clever idea and opens the door to a deeper understanding of the changing world we live in today. Having an all-male play that discusses the issues of being a man from a woman's perspective seem to be an oxymoron; however, Fairey who is a seasoned pro does a good job pulling it off; balancing the problematic task of straight and gender pronouns."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...If you are seeking a solid piece of entertainment- a 90 minute ( no intermission) escape from reality, then the Goodman Theatre is where you want to be. The latest production on the stage of the Albert ( the larger of the theaters in the building) , "Support Group For Men", is here for a short run (thru 7/29), so your opportunity is short. Written by a woman, Ellen Fairey, this play is about what it is to be a man today, as written by a woman."
WTTW - Somewhat Recommended
"...I didn’t believe a minute of it. And while Fairey’s heart is in the right place, “Support Group” feels more like a TV sitcom pilot than anything else."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Although audiences will come to the theatre expecting a fun, perhaps superficial summer comedy they’ll be happily surprised that this is more than a theatrical beach read. Ellen Fairey’s new comic drama offers a message that makes the audience’s investment with this new play far more rewarding. Smartly directed by the always impressive Kimberly Senior, the one-act features an excellent cast, a gorgeous, realistic scenic design and so much spirit and local color as to make any Chicagoan feel happily at home."
Third Coast Review - Recommended
"...The dialogue is fast and funny. Each actor is superbly a Chicago guy. Kupferer is especially funny and moving, and so is Jeff Kurysz as a surprise visitor. Senior's terrific direction does justice to Fairey's fine script. But Support Group is more than funny. It's sad and poignant in spots and it will give you something to think about after the curtain call."
The Hawk Chicago - Recommended
"...Despite the slightly-too-contrived ending, the other elements make up for these pitfalls. With a slew of wonderful performances, a spot-on Chicago-apartment set (compliments of scenic designer Jack Magaw), and a witty and warm 90 minutes, Support Group for Men might just be the show of the summer."
Chicago Theater and Arts - Recommended
"...Whether you like "Support Group for Men," a new play by Ellen Fairey, author of the highly successful "Graceland" and "Girl 20,"may depend on how you feel about comical TV sitcoms that are funny because they reveal underlying insecurities. No stranger to television, Fairey was a writer/producer on "Nurse Jackie and is executive co-producer of "The Sinner.""
Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended
"...Ellen Fairey’s new play, the bluntly named Support Group For Men, which is now playing at the Goodman Theatre, is a small gem of a play perfect for our time. Against the backdrop of a world that is redefining masculinity and femininity, a world where #metoo has redefined acceptable behavior, a world in which they/them/their can now be singular pronouns, Fairey zeroes in on the titular support group, a weekly gathering of four men to do something most men say is unfamiliar and even uncomfortable to them: honestly discuss their feelings with other men. The result is a play that is as honest as those feelings, and often hilarious as well."
PicksInSix - Highly Recommended
"...This is a play primarily about and including men, all decent, regular, rosé-swilling, power-meditating guys, who react protectively, as everyone tends to do, especially if we feel threatened or witness injustice. It is clear from Fairey's clever script that we - that is, all human beings - are in this together. Or to put it another way, we never fail in our human interactions if we always try to do the right thing and are not afraid to examine our own feelings along the way. There is a sensitive balance shining from within Fairey's refreshing and ground-breaking work that Senior has unearthed for our own enjoyment."
TotalTheater - Highly Recommended
"...Some of the funny stuff verges on sitcom antics-did I mention a gender-bending fugitive, a pair of neighborhood cops and some psychedelic superweed?-but these are men trying to be better men, and isn't that progress worthy of recognition?"
Picture This Post - Highly Recommended
"...From the perspective of this actor/playwright, one of the best features of this production is the various personalities bouncing around and reacting together in the apartment. In one such moment, Kitley is leading the group in a couple minutes of meditation. As the others struggle to sit fully cross-legged, or with which way their hands should face, Kupferer gets a bit bored, and slyly and stealthily reaches for a snack as the audience chortled. The group's reactions to alleyway disturbances and run-ins with the police are equally filled with awkward variety."
