Ten at The Gift Theatre

Chicago Tribune - Recommended

"... In the most chilling piece, Craig Wright's "Dead," Cyd Blakewell relates, a la "The Lovely Bones," the story of a young girl who has been murdered. She tells us "I'm dead, and I'm speaking through the playwright, and I'm speaking through this person." When she passes her story on by whispering into the ear of an audience member who then assumes her role, the link between past, present, and future becomes a bright shining wire of memory, loss, regret — and the potential for redemption. A fine theatrical gift, indeed — and it's free."

Chicago Sun Times - Recommended

"... The Gift Theatre has devised an exceptionally winning way to celebrate its 10th anniversary as a thriving storefront operation in the Jefferson Park neighborhood. It comes in the form of “Ten,” an anthology program comprised of eight short, world-premiere plays by formidable writers who have a history with the company, as well as a zesty improv sequence and a beguiling narrative account of the group’s founding. And by the time 21 members of this small-scale Equity ensemble gather to take their bows for a show notable for its free tickets (all part of the “party”), you may well feel as if a little slice of Chicago theater history has unfolded before your eyes."

Centerstage - Recommended

"...The plays themselves are quite good, reflecting a higher than average quality for an assortment like this. It helps that the festival attracted some big name playwrights like David Rabe and Eric Bogosian. Rabe’s “It’s Just the Moon” is a poignant and funny scene of two adult brothers reuniting in their deceased parents’ home. Bogosian’s “Tip Jar” sharply explores class through a rich, “happily married” businessman’s attempts at philanthropy towards a pretty young single mother working in a sandwich shop."