“Donnelly leaks out the details of his play in tantalizing microdoses… Director Brady and designer Buderwitz, perhaps constrained by the dimensions of 59E59’s miniscule Theater C, short-shrift the atmosphere by suggesting a generic motel in lieu of the country inn specified in the script. Still, the tight quarters make for a thrilling and ultimately hilarious physical tussle the morning after. Astutely threaded throughout ‘No Wake‘ is the intentionally sketchy tragedy of the lost child.”
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"An affecting drama, one that truly captures the emotions of people who are dealing with an indescribable tragedy...'No Wake' is an honest depiction of how people cope in the aftermath of death, yet it also shows the humorous moments that occur in everyday life...The actors are excellent in their portrayals of the play's complex characters...It is a show about relationships that is poignant, relatable, and very memorable."
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"'No Wake' begins just after a memorial service...But while the expected companions of grief, blame, and self-recrimination are certainly on hand, the play takes a surprising turn and becomes a funny, sad, messy love story...Thanks to excellent performances by the three cast members under Veronica Brady's knowing direction, the production does a fine job of bringing out both the pain and the human comedy of it all."
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“While neither the playwright or director Veronica Brady manage to make the glib banter and more painful undercurrents always mesh fluidly, there is a lot that's heart-touching and compelling...As Edward and Rebecca unpack their painful memories, and Roger lets us see the needy man beneath the glib exterior, Donnelly takes us deep into all their hearts and souls. To make all this work requires actors skilled at navigating between the darker and lighter interchanges."
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"Constrained by their underwritten characters and banal dialogue, the charming and talented Stef Tovar and Tricia Small flail around earnestly. With such poor material and a confined playing area, all director Veronica Brady can do is skillfully position the actors and keep the pace up...'No Wake' is an off-kilter and dull blend of farce, tragedy and boulevard comedy."
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“It seems to take forever for the play's rambling dialogue to bring its crises into focus... Too much of Veronica Brady's direction keeps the intensity accelerator somewhere between tedious and plodding, despite occasional outbursts of (to me) inexplicable laughter. Perhaps a more magnetic cast might have drawn out the play's emotional truths better than this one. The unit set…helps not at all, with unadorned, two-tone walls painted in the dreariest of institutional colors.”
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“As directed by Veronica Brady with an edge to humorous and real interplay, ‘No Wake’ is layered with authentic and touching moments flowing through the undercurrent. Even with the disappointment to come in the final ten minutes, the characters are soaked in authentic reactions and attachment…The three try hard not to be dragged out into the sea by the strong undertow, and through the actors solid and human approach to each other, they generally succeed.”
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"It’s difficult to fairly gauge the quality of a play when one of only three performers doesn’t weigh in. Though William Donnelly’s piece is predictable, it’s also well written and would certainly be more successful if otherwise cast...Except for brief parentheses, Tricia Small never inhabits the role. Even her listening is vague...Director Veronica Brady might have done more to alleviate this situation. As it stands, the actors reflect good direction, the actress does not."
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