"'Gloria' is a straightforward, sharp-toothed comic drama, rather in the acidic vein of Neil LaBute, Bruce Norris and Theresa Rebeck...I don’t want to make excessive claims for 'Gloria.' It isn’t written in the immortal, self-defining, action-shaping language of similar skewering comedies in which you get high listening to the propulsive, adrenalized talk. At this point, Mr. Cabnet’s production doesn’t have that compelling zing...But 'Gloria' allows us to glimpse the real, familiar, fallible human beings beneath the satirical gargoyles."
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"The play's satirical streak—its sic transit gloria mundi attitude toward the media and the way it distorts us into frenzy—is accented (and sometimes stressed too hard) in Evan Cabnet’s direction. But the play has powerful things to say about how we tune in and tune out. After the shock, it’s the human touches that linger."
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"In 'Gloria' especially, he toys with audience expectation as a form of drama in itself, regardless of content; indeed, much of the content is of very little consequence...How Hollywood degrades the event further is not only disappointing as a dramatic device but also just plain stale. It may well be that Jacobs-Jenkins is using the staleness deliberately, that he wants you to choke on your giggles. The whole play has that cart-before-the-horse feeling, as if written backward from its effects to its means."
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"Branden Jacobs-Jenkins is a playwright on a roll, displaying diversity with this contemporary work that’s a world away from his sly, slavery-themed 'An Octoroon.' The new play isn’t as daring or deep, but it’s dexterous and entertaining...Director Evan Cabnet has assembled a terrific cast of newcomers and seasoned stage pros. Most play more than one role and impress in each...The script isn’t airtight...But the dialogue tolls like a tuning fork and captures everyday interoffice insecurity."
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"Under Evan Cabnet’s barbed direction, a smart cast applies cutting wit to satirize five ruthlessly ambitious editorial assistants and the social outcast they make the butt of their jokes. The humor is dark and cruel, but terribly funny — until it suddenly isn’t. At which point, the comedy jumps the rails and doesn’t get back on track — until it suddenly does... The scribe veers so sharply into the dark side that he abandons the vital humor that made this bleak satire of the fashionable literati such wicked fun. The play recovers its comic stride in the final scene"
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"The playwright handles his serious themes in a thoughtful, provocative manner, displaying his penchant for meta-theatricality with the startling device of having nearly all of the performers take on multiple roles that playfully comment on the others...A rare example of a contemporary play that keeps us constantly guessing where it's headed, 'Gloria' is a work not to be easily forgotten."
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"All you need to know is that the bitingly funny and fierce 'Gloria' is one of the year’s best shows. What playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins says about American society, the media and how we package celebrity and tragedy is as spot-on as it is depressing...'Gloria' is an adrenaline rush of a show, but it also makes you think. Let’s just say it hits the bull’s-eye."
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"But the play never sings with interpretive, inflammatory meaning...The words these characters speak don’t hold any compelling mystery about who they are, A touching, penetrating point about how each type of person we know, with minor adjustments, could be someone else. It’s the play’s only observation worthy of one of America’s most exciting dramatists."
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