The Glory Of Living at Profiles Theatre - The Alley Stage

Chicago Tribune - Recommended

"...Carla Russell's direction is generally savvy and sure-footed. And it's always laudably intense. With the help of Steppenwolf Theatre casting director Erica Daniels, Russell found an extraordinary young newcomer named Kelly O'Sullivan to play the central role of Lisa, a young woman who kills others for the sexual pleasure of her husband. O'Sullivan's work is enough to make this show well worth seeing -- it's a disarmingly self-deprecating blend of desperation, childish confusion and no self-image whatsoever. It's precisely what the play demands."

Chicago Sun Times - Recommended

"...The Glory of Living was first produced in 1997 by Park Forest's Circle Theatre and it put Chicago-based playwright Rebecca Gilman on the map. Two years later, in a production by London's Royal Court Theatre, the play was lauded as a particularly probing and evocative look at "American trailer trash." It is far more."

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...One of Gilman's early plays, The Glory of Living isn't as pedantic as later scripts like Boy Gets Girl. It isn't as focused or rich either, and this staging by Carla Russell fails to probe whatever psychological depths and mysteries it might have."

Time Out Chicago - Recommended

"...Director Russell has staged the graphic play with surprising delicacy, destroying Profiles' proscenium space and placing the action directly in front of us."

ChicagoCritic - Recommended

"...Profiles Theatre’s production is full of honest performances that show that the Deep South is ripe with lost souls. Joe Jahraus, as Lisa’s lawyer, becomes the first caring (even loving) person in her life. Too little, too late. The Glory of Living is a marvelous character study that keeps you guessing and totally engaged."