"Not a lot happens in Emily Schwend’s 'Utility,' but its air hums with a tension that’s just this side of despair...'Utility' is a skillfully constructed, beautifully acted domestic drama about struggling simply to make do...There are no fireworks here...Ms. Schwend offers a close, unblinking look at a moment in the life of a woman who’s treading water as fast as she can, trying to keep her family afloat."
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"A soberly ambivalent assessment of the sacrifices people make not just to get ahead, but to just maintain a life they didn't want in the first place...'Utility' sometimes feels like the exposition scenes of a horror film, one in which the killer never shows up to work...Shaggy dialogue and dead-end exposition aside, 'Utility' is a vitally honest story of perseverance in the face of the massive challenges facing working-class American families."
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"The playwright has done a masterful job in creating an atmosphere of tension that threatens to crush Amber through the daily demands of her life...The cast does an excellent job in delineating the characters and their stressed-out lives. But the backbone of the production rests with the compelling portrayal of Amber by Ms. Vache, who allows us to see both the external strife and the internal struggle of a woman doing everything she can to keep the wolves at bay."
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"'Utility,' a kitchen sink drama, is as realistic as the day is long. The problem with the play is that as theater it is unrelievedly grim, with little or no catharsis along the way...The cast is uniformly accomplished giving indelible performances...It is weak on dramaturgy in that there is little progress or catharsis to keep the play from remaining on one level throughout the evening."
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"The characters and situations in 'Utility' are fairly recognizable, however the acting is very strong...The commitment is apparent as each actor is truly alive as their character...Each artist involved with 'Utility' further adds to this fantastic cohesion to execute a standout production."
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"The deep-down truthfulness of the behavior comes from the slow careful way playwright Schwend builds the relationships and the action…So much desire and missed opportunity is expressed in awkward, slow fits and starts that the beauty of this play explodes quietly...The actors perform as a graceful ensemble…'Utility' is a very satisfying experience, and unfolds like a bittersweet secret."
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"The script is beautifully written by Emily Schwend…The power of 'Utility' is in its authenticity, which is aided by subtle details...There was no lesson to be learned from Amber’s hard work and there was no light at the end of her tunnel. Watching it was like watching life as it often is--a lot of hard work with a fleeting minute or two to sit and reclaim yourself."
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"With the intricate performance lacework that Schwend’s script demands, the cast and director really have to make every moment count. Someone needs to be generating energy and a vibrating undercurrent of emotion even if no one is saying a thing. Here, the actors hold on these moments but the meaning plays a bit too faint. The characters are operating on multiple levels. But we do not always get to see that secondary layer in all the performances, all of the time. "
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