EXTRAORDINARY CHAMBERS: 100% – SWEET

Marin Hinkle and Kimiko Gelman in "Extraordinary Chambers" at the Geffen Playhouse. Photo courtesy of Barbara Davidson/Los Angeles Times.

SWEET
Wiener purposely isolates the audiences at times, having his characters arguing often in French and Khmer language. But if you’re willing to go along, you’ll be rewarded with an evening filled with fascinating revelations and real human drama.
Jonas Schwartz – TheaterMania

BITTERSWEET
“Extraordinary Chambers” could use some sorting out, but there are plenty of points of fascination inside.
Charles McNulty – LA Times

SWEET
Passionate if often ill-wrought, “Chambers” offers a worthwhile return on two hours’ time investment.
Bob Verini – Variety

SWEET
These are very topical questions that were addressed at the Geffen Playhouse’s World Premiere of EXTRAORDINARY CHAMBERS. Courtesy of the riveting eloquence of David Wiener’s text and the potent performances by its stars, CHAMBERS explores the agonies of loss with realistically frightening results.
Peter A. Balaskas – LASplash

SWEET
Intercut scenes of Sopoan giving evidence at the tribunal are chilling and difficult to endure, thanks to Greg Watanabe’s poignant performance. The emotional wallop that concludes this fine and subtle play is its grace note.
Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA

SWEET
Under the skillful direction of Pam MacKinnon, this production eloquently blends political intrigue with profound personal drama.
Les Spindle – Backstage

SWEET
The cast is stellar across the board: from Zickel’s charisma and Hinkle’s expressive body language, to Chau’s ability to turn on dime, Gelman’s understated ferocity and Watanabe’s embodiment of an utterly broken man. MacKinnon potently molds Wiener’s cleverly subversive scenes into edgy drama that strikingly conveys the weight of history.
Mayank Keshaviah – LA Weekly

SWEET
There are several telling plot twists to the story, one of which brought a gasp from the audience. These twists might be better integrated into the story rather that having the story stop for several monologue by the Sopoan character. The acting is all good though the characters are rather unlikeable so it is difficult to get into their respected plights. I was particularly impressed by Francois Chau who displayed a range of emotions that he conveyed with honesty. This compelling story is playing at the Geffen Playhouse until July 3rd.
Robert Machray – Stagehappenings

SWEET
Nonetheless, the production effectively maintains an air of tantalizing mystery through most of its length, with sterling performances throughout.
Don Shirley – LA Stage Watch

EXTRAORDINARY CHAMBERS
Geffen Playhouse’s Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater
10886 Le Conte Avenue, L.A.
8 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Ends July 3, 2011
Tickets: $71-$76; 310-208-5454
Running Time: 2 hours, 5 minutes