The Safe House at City Lit Theater

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...How much has this play been influenced by Thatcher's experiences as a cancer patient? Or by her current status as someone in remission, with a threat of leukemia on the horizon? It would be presumptuous for me to think I know the answer to this. But I sensed that Thatcher is working at once on two levels: the petty details of everyday life and the deeper mysteries beneath our feet."

Windy City Times - Highly Recommended

"...Doing the honors in this world premiere production at City Lit is the always-captivating marssie Mencotti as the formidable Hannah ( whose charms encompass a backstory of immigrant survival and an impromptu song-and-dance just prior to intermission ). She is flanked by Paul Chakrin and Kat Evans as the kin whose selfless resilience is the factor elevating Ray Toler's cozy Midwestern hearth above simple nostalgic scenic design into the kind of home we wish had been ours."

Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended

"...In the end, The Safe House left me a little in love with and very much heartbroken for Hannah. When she recalls, with perfect clarity, a New Year's Eve in 1949, she sparkles. She is every inch the woman who raised a family and built a life in a new country, and she has every right to demand that she should live in any house she damned well pleases. But then you watch her nearly give herself a second, and potentially fatal, dose of insulin because she forgot she already injected herself today, and the world seems incredibly unfair. With the short run time, the show really doesn't resolve anything, but in a way, there isn't a resolution to be had. That's almost a way a to describe Alzheimer's. It takes all our endings from us - the ones we have and the ones we think we'll get - so what ultimately amounts to a brief character sketch still manages to be very affecting."

Chicago Theater and Arts - Highly Recommended

"...I am not sure where the bulk of the credit lies in this perfectly believable production. Thatcher's dialog seems as though she must have tape recorded these conversations and used the content. The language is seamless and natural. But so too is the delivery between Mencotti and Evans."

TheatreWorld Internet Magazine - Highly Recommended

"...The Safe House, opening just days before the Thanksgiving holiday, is a humble reminder of where we come from and the people who help us shape the world we are blessed to live in. As family and friends gather during the Holiday Season, The Safe House is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon or an evening."

Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended

"...The play packs a lot of pathos and personality into 80 minutes. It’s very well written, with the type of developed personality depiction, convincing dialogue, and heart-wrenching interactions that could only be written by somebody who has been there and suffered with a loved one. The scenes where each character reveals his/her personal family memories are the most poignant.”