Chicago Tribune
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Some clever physical business notwithstanding, the compounding problem with director Jason Alexander’s production is a wildly over-the-top performance from Colantoni, whose endlessly yammering Jerry rampages around Paul Tate dePoo III’s set, often armed with something sharp and always filled with so much rhetorical bile as to make the listener eye the exits. He put me in mind of the famous Broadway story involving the play “I Hate Hamlet” and the sword-wielding actor Nicol Williamson."
Chicago Sun Times
- Somewhat Recommended
"...From then on, the play resembles nothing so much as an effort to revive the old-fashioned drawing room comedy. The widely popular, albeit wide-ranging genre, reaching its zenith in the first half of the 20th century, featured characters of great sophistication and wealth engaging in fast-paced, endlessly witty banter, preferably over cocktails."
Chicago Reader
- Not Recommended
"...Scooter Pietsch’s comedy, Fault, now in a world premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theater under Jason Alexander’s high-octane direction, seems to think it’s telling us something we didn’t already know about rich soulless jerks. But though it’s only 90 minutes long, nearly every moment of this show felt so preordained and predictable that, even with Chicago stalwart Rebecca Spence killing it in a role originally planned for Teri Hatcher (who left the cast for unknown reasons), it feels like a slog."
Talkin Broadway
- Highly Recommended
"...Colantoni comes in strange and hot as Jerry, and as Lucy, Spence's attempts to lower the temperature of the situation and render Jerry and their marriage legible to both Shaun and the audience sets up the play's comedic sensibility beautifully."
Stage and Cinema
- Not Recommended
"...Fault conflates speed of delivery with comedy. The play contains more dialogue about how witty Jerry and Lucy are than actual wit. Both Spence and Colantoni are accomplished enough to handle the rapid-fire timing, with responses coming before the previous line fully lands, but the lines themselves lack snap or verve. The jokes are few and far between. Jerry's dialogue, in particular, is so dense that every time Colantoni launches into an extended speech, "What a yammering sphincter," to borrow from The Big Bang Theory, becomes the only possible response."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Highly Recommended
"...This is an exhilarating marital war with talented intelligent actors who go the distance with the material. See this new piece as it comes lustily, loudly and dangerously to life. Fight choreographer Erik Gratton keeps the stakes high. If you miss this entertaining play you will have to fly somewhere to see it- save yourself a trip!"
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews
- Highly Recommended
"...Fault is truly one of the top plays of the year. With its crackling satire, comedic timing, and whirlwind of rapid-fire dialogue, it's an exhilarating 90 minutes of pure theatrical brilliance that you won't want to miss."
Around The Town Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...This 90 minute play with no intermissions is smoothly directed by Jason Alexander ( who many of you will remember as George Costanza from The Seinfeld Show), and as I watched the story evolve and got to understand the three characters onstage, I saw a little bit of George in Jerry ( a powerful performance by Enrico Colantoni , who many of you might recall from his many films and TV roles) as little bits of rant and rage take place."
Chicago Theatre Review
- Highly Recommended
"...This wickedly adult play will be the talk of every savvy theatergoer in Chicago. I’m not sure this show will go over well in small town America, but I can easily see Scooter Pietsch’s dark comedy becoming a hit with smart Broadway audiences, as well as metropolitan venues all over the country. It’s sharp, honest and filled with barbs of wit and wisdom that may be difficult to swallow. Directed by a shrewd theatrical artist, like Jason Alexander, and cast with top caliber actors, like this company, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that FAULT will soon become an audience favorite everywhere. The unexpected humor and profound gravitas of how the playwright treats marriage, honesty and coming to terms with growing older, is an argument worth having but that no one ever wins."
Buzz Center Stage
- Highly Recommended
"...What stays with you isn’t only the tension or the humor, but the clarity of the production itself, which recognizes how a single, seismic domestic shift can rattle everything a couple has built, sending shockwaves through a foundation that once seemed unshakeable."
The Fourth Walsh
- Somewhat Recommended
"...An affluent couple are partners in marriage and business. When Jerry arrives home to celebrate his biggest deal ever, Lucy shocks him with her own big deal. Both surprises force them to reevaluate their relationship. As they dissect their past to determine responsibility, they coerce a guilty bystander to judge the wreckage for fault."
Chicago On Stage
- Recommended
"...Bottom line: this is a very dark comedy with considerable farce-like movement. Know that before going in. Jerry and Lucy are truly awful people and Shaun isn’t really a whole lot better. The reality, though, is that Pietsch and Alexander don’t take them very seriously, and if you aren’t looking for redeemable characters, these three can be a lot of fun. I know that I and the opening night audience laughed a lot. Just don’t look for meaning."
Curtain Call Chicago
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Fault, now on stage at Chicago Shakespeare Theater under the capable direction of Jason Alexander, feels like a sitcom pilot that hasn’t quite figured out its rhythm yet—full of recognizable setups, flashes of charm, and the lingering sense that something better could emerge with revisions. The most frustrating thing is that this script knows it can be better. It has the structure of a genuinely funny, character-driven play, and with some revisions, it will work and importantly be delivered by a cast that is quite capable of meeting its demands."
BroadwayWorld
- Recommended
"...Overall, FAULT is enjoyable and full of Jerry and Lucy's increasingly ridiculous antics - even if at a certain point you just want to tell them to enjoy all their money and stop fighting. It's easily digestible fare, breezy even when Jerry and Lucy's fighting is not."
NewCity Chicago
- Recommended
"...Jason Alexander, famous as George on “Seinfeld,” directed the play. Pietsch, who has long been a prolific composer for television and movies (“Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” “So You Think You Can Dance,” “Divorce Court,” etc.), brings an uptempo ear for dialogue. The talk rarely slows down and is usually at high volume. The dialogue offers surprises and laughs most of the way. While there’s no one to like or root for, there is usually the promise of a next insult to savor. In one very funny run, Jerry presses Shaun for a better way to refer to Shaun’s “doing” his wife."
