Broadway World - Recommended
"...Ultimately, it is Flynn (the company's founding artistic director) who gives A GREAT WILDERNESS its beating heart. Playing a character who is simultaneously an Open Window to his clients and a broken man who can't come to terms with his own identity, Flynn offers up a man who is good will personified. Alas, as Hunter demonstrates, that may not be enough."
LA Splash - Somewhat Recommended
"...While A GREAT WILDERNESS may not be Hunter's best play, it is surely a thought-provoking study of average people faced with difficult decisions. At times, the chronology of the story is a bit jumbled, as are the fluctuating motives of the folks who find themselves in "the wilderness." This writer also had problems with one of Hunter's technical ploys - that of having two or three conversations going on at the same time. While he was probably aiming for chaos, the effect made it nearly impossible to follow the storyline and proved irritating. Nonetheless, this is a play which will keep your attention throughout and will likely cause you to have an internal dialog about the issues raised."
Stage Scene LA - Highly Recommended
"...Idaho playwright Samuel D. Hunter tackles gay conversion therapy in his expectations-defying, cliche-free 2014 drama A Great Wilderness, the riveting latest from Rogue Machine Theatre."
ArtsBeatLA - Somewhat Recommended
"...In my experience, ninety percent of the time that there’s an issue with a theatrical production, the problem is the play itself. It’s surprisingly rare for the main trouble to be with the acting or direction or design. And so it is with Samuel D. Hunter’s A Great Wilderness. I’ve enjoyed other works by Hunter, such as Pocatello or The Whale, but Wilderness has major structural issues that derail whatever impact it might have had. Rogue Machine’s Los Angeles premiere benefits from a strong lead performance by producing artistic director John Perrin Flynn and a handsome set but ultimately can’t transcend the unfocused writing."
On Stage Los Angeles - Highly Recommended
"...What RMT has done with The Matrix stage is highly creative. Bruce Goodrich's beautifully rustic cabin spans over forty feet from right to left, leaving some attendees in left field as some action evolves many yards away.
Daniel (Jeffrey Delfin), is Walt's last client. Daniel arrives alone. He is overly distraught. We begin at a snail's pace as director Elina de Santos allows the introduction of the confused and frightened Daniel's meeting Walt iitially to take a considerable length of time to evolve."
Stage Raw - Recommended
"...Flynn plays Walt with dignity and grace, and to the extent that you identify or empathize with this character, a person for whom life in its fullness has begun to recede, the production will move you. But other elements are less successful — some related to the writing (see above) and others to the execution, under Elina de Santos’s direction. For example, I found it hard to relate to Eunice, a mother who claims to love her son (and perhaps she does) but, acting through the prism of her faith, views Daniel’s possible death as a liberation."
Peoples World - Recommended
"...The play has a kind of Buñuelesque feel, with everyone (except ranger Janet) desperately wanting to get out of that lodge but unable to do so. Hunter concludes on an open-ended note, not the expected feel-good resolution all wrapped up in a pretty bow. Discerning theatergoers will find it rewarding to “write” the next scenes in their own minds. What will the ensuing conversations be like? Is this play really over?"
Glamgical - Recommended
"...A Great Wilderness is an accurate reflection of the complexities faced by conservative America, where the interpretation of Christian values might offer more questions that answers."
