The Mercy Seat Reviews

Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended

"...When "The Mercy Seat" first appeared in a city still raw, there was some understandable shock that LaBute had neither chosen to spread balm nor ponder man's inhumanity to man, but to use this context as another in his career-long series of portraits of people using others for their own needs. That disconnect still imparts a certain unease -- so be warned. And I think the palpable downside of this play (and this production) is that you can easily find Ben and his boss-slash-lover Abby (played by Cheryl Graeff) so darn irritating you can't bear to hear them yak about their problems anymore."

Chicago Sun Times - Somewhat Recommended

"...LaBute has given us an intriguing premise in "The Mercy Seat," now in its Chicago debut (directed by Joe Jahraus) at Profiles Theatre, the storefront that has made the playwright's work a major part of its lineup in recent years. But it is never fully convincing, despite the best efforts of Darrell W. Cox as Ben and the altogether exceptional, utterly relentless Cheryl Graeff (one of this city's most gifted if unheralded actresses), who, as Abby, makes an almost superhuman effort here."

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"... Darrell W. Cox is mesmerizing as Ben, a heap of inertia whose every unfinished sentence speaks volumes. And once LaBute supplies a reason to like Abby, Cheryl Graeff takes the character to heartbreaking heights. Director Joe Jahraus maintains exacting focus. It's a maddening, penetrating evening, well worth arguing over."

Windy City Times - Somewhat Recommended

"...A playwright's allegiance is only to his play's universe, but LaBute's universe is so blatantly artificial that any empathy generated for his characters risks being eclipsed by indignation at his unabashed manipulation. Who wouldn't want to run away from a home filled with ball-busting estrogen-huffing clutchers? And who wouldn't be outraged at a slackerly squeeze's casual presumption of feminine loyalty? After stacking the deck so shamelessly, LaBute tries to lure us back into the game with an eleventh-hour revelation reducing the disaster outside to a mere catalyst in the domestic quarrel that is its real focus, but by then it's too late."

Copley News Service - Recommended

"...In the Profiles production directed by Joe Jahraus, Abby is the dominant character. Cheryl Graeff delivers a performance of terrific intensity. In a distinguished career in Chicago theater, Graeff has never disappointed, but this is as good as she’s ever been."

Talkin Broadway - Somewhat Recommended

"...Cox and Graeff are fine actors and it's fun watching them here, but more like the fun of watching tennis champions Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal rallying the ball over a lengthy match. You admire their stamina and their timing, and are impressed with their professionalism and skill. Sadly, their performances are in the service of creating characters that are just not very interesting to begin with."

Chicagoist - Somewhat Recommended

"...At the risk of generalizing, Neil LaBute tends to write about bad people. I knew that going in, and maybe it’s not fair of me to look at the show through a lens that prefers to see characters with redeeming qualities. I do think LaBute fans will like this show - Darrell W. Cox and Cheryl Graeff are perfect in their roles, and both are occasionally sympathetic. But I still hated watching them."

Time Out Chicago - Recommended

"...Jahraus’s measured direction peels back the layers of the tightly wound affair as the pair attempt to communicate through thrusts of venom and parries of sarcasm. Though her character, sketched as the archetypal ferocious fortysomething single executive, seems a bit shortchanged, Graeff acutely conveys how Abby is both repulsed and entranced by Ben. And in Cox’s agile hands, Ben’s an indelible and charismatic jerk. We know what’s coming, but Cox keeps us guessing until the play’s end."

ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended

"...The genius of Neil LaBute’s dialogue is that is sound so much like realistic talk, not author speak. The delivery of incomplete sentences, the rhythm and nuanced delivery by Cox and Graeff are so profound and truthful that we easily enter their world. By the show’s end, we understand each person’s point of view as LaBute’s script is balanced. The Mercy Seat is an unsettling drama that needs t0 be seen. Profiles Theatre once again proves that they are a Chicago storefront gem."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended

"...In this ninety minute character study directed by Joe Jahraus we are given a lot of information about these two characters and how their relationship started and what they think and feel about each other. There are issues of trust and honesty that are dealt with as each of them search for some sign from the other that this is more than just an office affair. Ben's idea seems like it is the perfect escape, but is it? Can a man who has been unable to face the truth with his family walk away from his children? Can a woman who has worked her way up the career ladder give up her seniority to start a new life somewhere else, for love? These are some of the questions posed by LaBute and in answering these questions he takes us on a bit of a roller coaster ride and not until the very end do we learn the fate of these two wonderful and somewhat real characters."

Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended

"...What works in this piece is Graeff’s performance as a woman who is both powerful and desperate, self-loathing and strident with pride. Cox has less to work with as a classic LaBute male of few redeeming qualities. Together, the two make you wish Profiles would take a stab at Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf."

BroadwayWorld - Highly Recommended

"...I don't know if a play about September 11, 2001 is every going to be a night of light theatre fare. I'm not even sure if treatment of this time period will ever leave its audience on a hopeful note. The Mercy Seat sure does not. LaBute throws in your face that maybe we all were not heroes that day. It is not an easy, although an important, issue to face. Jahraus and the cast deserve special note for making the audience uneasy and uncomfortable, forcing it to face LaBute's questions like the lovers in question must face. The Profiles Theatre production of The Mercy Seat is wonderful and a must see."