Press
IVANOV
“SiNNERMAN Ensemble teams up with veteran director Sheldon Patinkin and instantly joins the big league, turning Anton Chekhov’s stylistically tricky first play into a riveting exploration of the tragic and farcical flounderings of the human heart. The inquisitive, passionate, disarmingly young cast are so in tune with Chekhov’s nuanced style they make Patinkin’s 2001 Steppenwolf production of Uncle Vanya look like a middle-school pageant. These two-and-a-half hours are about all you need to understand why Chekhov, theatre and life matter.”
-Justin Hayford, Chicago Reader
“Skilled performances… [SiNNERMAN Ensemble member Jeremy] Fisher captures Ivanov’s desolation; his pain is genuine and heartfelt. [SiNNERMAN Ensemble member Cyd] Blakewell’s Anna is heartbreaking. Thanks to Sheldon Patinkin’s astute direction, the ensemble handles Chekhov’s abrupt mood swings with aplomb.
-Lisa Buscani, New City
“The magnetic [SiNNERMAN Ensemble member] Calliope Porter is particularly enjoyable as Marfa, a wannabe Countess… the ensemble’s chemistry is undeniable… the cast tackles this production with all its might, and in the end, they turn in a product worthy of much praise.”
-Joseph Erbentraut, Edge Chicago
“Passionate performances… [SiNNERMAN Ensemble member] Sue Redman is exhilarating as Sasha…”
-Martin Jon, Gapersblock
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BIBLE B-SIDES
“They get my admiration for attempting to put forward difficult subject matter with creative staging. I pray that they continue to take such risks. Many of the creative choices here are excellent.”
“[SiNNERMAN Ensemble member] Jeremy Fisher as God is the most charged performance in the show. Hurt, angry, vengeful, compassionate and forgiving– Fisher covers a lot of emotional ground in ten minutes or so.”
“[SiNNERMAN Ensemble member] Sue Redman gives the best overall performance in this production, playing a loving daughter, a whore, and a number of others– with originality, grace and (when appropriate) humor.“
-J. Scott Hill, Chicago Stage Review
“The ingenious concept is to present stripped down stagings of dramatic, often perverse, biblical tales. Mere suggestions from the actors create all the grand passions and tumultuous conflicts any audience needs.“
-Justin Hayford, Chicago Reader
“SiNNERMAN Ensemble is a profoundly gifted young company… one of the most talented and promising new theatre companies in Chicago. The risks taken in BIBLE B-SIDES are refreshingly commendable. The cast is dedicated and the sound design by Mikhail Fiksel adds depth by way of haunting incidental interludes.“
-Venus Zarris, Steadstyle Chicago
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SWEET CONFINEMENT
“SiNNERMAN Ensemble formed after training together at the School at Steppenwolf, and they are a fledgling company that makes Chicago theater all the richer and does their mentors proud. With “Sweet Confinement” they have created bold and provocative, glaringly intimate and urgently powerful theater. This is a must-see production and a thrilling opportunity to see the unique event when aspiring talent finally arrives.“
-Venus Zarris, Gay Chicago Magazine
“What makes this world premiere SiNNERMAN Ensemble production work . . . is Anna Carini’s acerbic-but-not-jaded dialogue, a cast of committed young actors, and some exquisitely tuned direction by Anna Bahow. It all adds up to a little show with a big heart that spills past the edge of Joe Schermoly’s realistic all-white set and dares us not to care about these people“.
- Kerry Reid, Chicago Reader
“There are so many ways Sweet Confinement could go horribly wrong. Miraculously, Carini avoids the pitfalls inherent in her themes, producing instead a truthful, well-observed portrait of life in miniature… The playwright is well served by the newly formed SiNNERMAN Ensemble (here in its second production). Director Bahow opens with a visual grabber and doesn’t let go for the entire, taut 80 minutes. Bahow coaches modulated, unpretentious performances from her actors, all of whom negotiate the play’s sharp hairpin-turns from comedy to tragedy and back.”
— Kay Daly, Timeout Chicago
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THE INCREDIBLY FAMOUS WILLY RIVERS
“It’s worth noting that this new ensemble’s name derives from a Nina Simone song. At intermission, when the song plays and Simone yelps, “But the lord said/Go to the devil,” the cacophony is hypnotizing: a brooding mess of gray areas, hypocrisies, paranoia. As a template for future productions, that’s about as good as it gets. For a bright-eyed, sharp fringe collective, it’s even more impressive.”
–Time Out Chicago
“The production is the debut effort from SiNNERMAN Ensemble — a group that met at the School at the Steppenwolf — and there is no question about their acting skills.“
– Chicago Tribune
