Chicago Tribune - Not Recommended

"...The problems are obvious and familiar. For starters, you don’t believe for a second that The Flowers is a Chicago theater company. There is not a shred of evidence that the author has ever pondered the creative ferment or the nomenclature of this theater town. There is no recognizable context for this company — which seems to be more like a summer-stock outfit in, say, Provincetown, Mass. There is nothing here that veterans of the Chicago scene will recognize as truth."
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Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended

"...This tension between the need to give back to the community that’s fueled you and the pitfall of walling yourself off inside a ghetto—gay, artistic or familial—seems to be at the heart of Bock’s question. It remains unanswered, but it’s addressed thoughtfully and engagingly in Cullman’s production, which makes smart use of the playwright’s co-opting of theater clichés (the talk-back, the audition, an extended scene from Shakespeare) to illustrate the dilemma. Reed’s detailed, lived-in performance as a put-upon artist provides an anchor that’s appropriately both solid and unsure."
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Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...Recalling David Mamet's 1977 A Life in the Theatre, the play--performed here as part of About Face Theatre's XYZ Festival of New Work--is structured as a series of on- and backstage vignettes, imaginatively designed and vividly acted under Trip Cullman's direction. Bruch Reed's Hal combines graceful humor with poignantly understated intensity."
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NewCity Chicago - Not Recommended

"...The ensemble does what it can with the material. Bruch Reed is vulnerable and stretched; Kieran Kredell shows a wide, believable range. But the best performances can’t salvage a piece that tries to say so much and fails to say it."
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Windy City Times - Recommended

"...Trust The Flowers to lesser actor, and the final moment could be an inconclusive cop-out. It's wordless and abrupt: After a violent heartbreak, the world goes still. Here, in that stillness is Reed, his face a perfect reflection of endlessly multifaceted pain, fear and something else, too: the sustaining fortitude that comes from dealing with devastation. It's Reed's moment—quiet and indelible and wondrously moving."
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Chicago Free Press - Recommended

"...With its glimpses of key moments during a momentous year, Bock’s bittersweet play packs both genuine laughs and some poignant sorrows. The fine About Face cast makes good on the script’s promises—especially Bruch Reed’s Hal, whose sense of responsibility is both admirable and limiting; Reed demonstrates the beauty and the sadness in Hal’s choices. Caron Buinis ultimately shows us the hidden heart of her starved-for-attention actress, while Merrina Millsapp balances the overdramatic archetypes with her humorously down-to-earth lesbian stage manager. The result is 90 minutes (or so) of thought-provoking, heartfelt character study."
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Centerstage - Highly Recommended

"...This production has three things going for it. The first is a cast of six very talented actors. Bruch Reed stands out with his realistic and naturally nuanced portrayal of Hal, the master gardener in this bed of Flowers. His attempt to keep everyone content and still see that the show goes on is a juggling act for this artist of many hats. Caron Buinis is both Reed's foil and his foible, whether playing a bit long-in-the-tooth Juliet, a rebellious grad assistant or the company's temperamental diva, although that title continually shifts among characters in this play."
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