The Dark at the Top of the Stairs at American Theater Company

Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended

"...In the lead role of the jilted, miserable Cora Flood, the intensely empathetic Cheryl Graeff avoids the usual shrillness or whining in favor of a deft blend of warm affection and disappointment. And because this is a play partly about the inability of the early 20th Century American male to express affection, it's pivotal that the men of the world blend inner angst and outward dysfunction. And that's precisely what Tim Decker (as Rubin Flood) and Sean Parker (as Morris, his ineffectual brother-in-law) manage to do."

Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended

"...While you might have caught the film version on late-night TV (Robert Preston, Dorothy McGuire and Eve Arden starred), there is something truly revelatory about the production now at the American Theater Company, where director Damon Kiely has not only yanked this most intriguing play out of the attic, but restored it to a state of full luster."

Windy City Times - Highly Recommended

"...The entire company’s acting under Damon Kiely’s direction is uniformly excellent in ATC’s lovely production. The acting never turns too unbelievably histrionic despite some dated character motivations and psychological conceits."

Gay Chicago Magazine - Recommended

"...The standout performance is undoubtedly that of the brooding, insular son, Sonny (Edward Heffernan). Heffernan plays the waifish boy with a mixture of childhood imagination combined with a persona of the observer, taking in the angst around him. Rarely has there been such a stellar youth performance on Chicago’s many stages."

Time Out Chicago - Recommended

"...ATC’s respectable production offers much to appreciate, most of all the exchanges between lonely housewife Cora (Graeff) and her salesman husband, Rubin (Decker). Graeff has a pleasant stage presence, but when she shares the stage with Decker, she does more than simply please. The two poignantly embody Inge’s sharp take on marriage..."

ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended

"...This brilliant play smoothly engages us from the start and never lets up. We care about Cora, Reenie and Sonny and we quietly cheer for them to come out of their shell."