Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...But as I headed away from the Goodman Monday, suddenly knowing far more about the youth of an artist I’ve watched for years, I was struck by how those of us with realities we need to escape often make the superior artists, especially when we’re finally old enough to realize that there is no escape, absolutely no “rising above.” That is the naivety of youth. Cale ran all the way to America, but his parents might as well have been in his suitcase. Happiness, or catharsis, or survival, or whatever is the right word for that inner peace we all hope to obtain before we shuffle off this mortal coil, requires confrontation with your angels and demons, especially if they gave you birth."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...One of Cale's chief themes here is the performance of life as it's being lived. During one crucial scene, he describes his teenage self wailing at the site of an unimaginable horror, all the while staring at himself in the mirror and turning into both actor and director of his pain. Life according to David Cale may not be a cabaret, old chum, but it does resemble a one-person show."
Daily Herald - Highly Recommended
"...Throughout the insightful "We're Only Alive," Cale regales his audience with tales about his fraught family life in Luton, an industrial town with a reputation for being the butt of jokes."
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...Quiet even in excess, Cale’s self-muted outpouring is a triumph of restraint amid extremity. It must be both torturous and therapeutic to reprise it every night. The minor miracle is that Cale also manages to make it matter to all of us who happily avoided his youthful downbringing."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Highly Recommended
"...Director Robert Falls helped bring this David Cale's new autobiographical solo play to the theater. It's been 30 years since Cale debut at Goodman Theatre and this playwright, composer, and performer is at his peak; showing his range of talents."
WTTW - Highly Recommended
"...The production, meticulously directed by Robert Falls, has a lovely, far from antiseptic minimalism about it, with a bare stage initially animated by the magical set design of Kevin Depinet, whose three-dimensional "curtain" of silvery birdcages suspended from the rafters is lit by another magician, Jennifer Tipton. She also sees to it that the onstage musicians - including Marsh, Dave Belden (viola), Michelle Campbell (Harp), Desiree Miller (cello), Jered Montgomery (trumpet), and Anna Najoom (clarinet) - are bathed in a golden haze."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...This extraordinary performance, that elicited a standing ovation opening night, is a profound and fervent journey into the soul of a man. Without giving away any more details, this is a personal story, one that belongs only to David Cale. He shares with his audience all the pain, passion and progress made by this extraordinary British actor. Yet, in opening his heart to the audience, laying bare his life on the stage, Mr. Cale not only frees his soul from memories but asks us to join him in rejoicing in his success as an artist and a survivor."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...Respecting Goodman's request that the reviewer avoid including describing certain aspects of the plot, the above comments don't reveal descriptions that takes the viewer by the throat as the play proceeds. Let it suffice that this is a work that reaches hypnotic and horrific intensity at its peak and will leave viewers limp at the end. I can't recall when I've seen so much powerful drama and such finely tuned acting and staging in such a short and basic production. This is Cale's highly personal story and only he knows how much it takes out of him every performance. But for the audience it's an overwhelming experience."
The Fourth Walsh - Recommended
"...WE’RE ONLY ALIVE FOR A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME is an interesting experience of David Cale. His story is marring. His storytelling, although uneven, is vivid."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended
"...If, as many might agree, good theatre is that which affects its audiences profoundly, then to proffer the moniker to Goodman Theatre's We're Only Alive for a Short Amount of Time is a no-brainer."
Third Coast Review - Recommended
"...As directed by Goodman Artistic Director Robert Falls, We're Only Alive...moves through Cale's remembrances of his alcoholic father and his outgoing and charming mother, who was still a deeply lonely woman who felt trapped by the times. In an interesting turn, Cale fully acknowledges that his memories of the time are unreliable, which makes for some interesting line blurring between absolute truth and the way a child's mind twists the truth in ways that help him cope. It doesn't help that many of the adults in young Cale's world weren't honest with him about the single greatest tragedy of his life, presumably in an effort to protect him and his younger brother, but perhaps also so they didn't have to deal with his emotional response to what really happened."
Chicago Theater and Arts - Highly Recommended
"...Directed with great insight and empathy by Robert Falls, “We’re Only alive for A Short Amount of Time” is definitely powerful."
Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended
"...David Cale, author and star, plays all the characters and sings all the songs - smoothly and seamlessly moving from father to mother to brother to grandparent while weaving in just the right lyrics to reinforce thought, emotion and behavior. He doesn't just tell his story, he enacts it - without doffing any hats or changing any garments. He remains the same Cale - and yet is somehow intrinsically different with each incarnation. In one vivid, climactic moment, he dialogues with himself as lawyer and witness creating both conflict and resolution simultaneously. What a tour de force!"
PicksInSix - Highly Recommended
"...The haunting and lush score, co-written with and arranged by Matthew Dean Marsh, is ever-present yet leaves Cale isolated and powerfully alone on stage much of the time. Director Robert Falls allows no distractions to impede the 90-minute piece unlocking rich, earnest and multi-layered characters from Cale's fruitful and engaging imagination."
Picture This Post - Recommended
"...This writer does not want to give anything away, but this British actor's past certainly takes some turns - particularly as he recounts his relationship with his parents. While he rose above those setbacks, there is no denying that Cale had quite a lot to more to overcome than any young person should. However, while the story has the potential to live in that darker realm, Cale is never afraid to bring out the humor, adding a release that allows the audience to continue along on this journey."
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Returning to the Goodman after debuting in a workshop production at last year’s New Stages Festival, David Cale’s autobiographical one-man show migrates from the Owen to the Albert. Those such as myself concerned that the production might lose a layer of its intimacy in the move should rest assured: David Cale could make an airplane hanger feel like a warmly lit living room."
