Variety
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Despite the obvious care in staging, Pelfrey and Rodriguez fail to see they're trying to have it both ways, no less guilty than the Geraldos and Oprahs they twit in wanting no good deed to go unridiculed."
LA Weekly
- Somewhat Recommended
"...It would be tempting to place all the blame on director Dámaso Rodriguez for the cluttered, overblown and sententious chaos that is playwright Matt Pelfrey's inchoate meditation on the act of heroism in the age of mechanical reproduction. But Pelfrey's pedestrian and attenuated tale of a wimpy, comic book-obsessed high school outcast (Nick Cernoch) accidentally thrust into self-destructive media celebrity packs neither the poetic punch of a riveting stage narrative nor the insight needed to nail down its intended examination of the hero as a social construct."
Backstage
- Recommended
"...Pelfrey has fashioned a bracingly cerebral and nerve-rattling piece. "...Though the play needs to bring its complex narrative and heady themes into focus more quickly and lucidly, the project pays off as an intellectually stimulating ride."
Talkin Broadway
- Recommended
"...NOgoodDEED is, in some ways, a depressing and accusatory play about how we destroy what we idolize. But what makes it a crazy fun piece of theatre is that it takes place in a surreal world where comic book superheroes come to life, and the world of live actors on stage is interwoven with the world of graphic novels on upstage screens. So when the second act starts talking about time travel, cosmic energy, and white kryptonite, you're willing to go along for the ride."
LAist
- Recommended
"...No Good Deed initially seems to struggle to find its niche, but by Act Two, Pelfrey's play fully redeems itself through quirky humor and full-circle connections that validate the rest of the work."
Edge
- Not Recommended
"...It's not that we, as an audience cannot sympathize with anti-heroes "...such as these, but as presented in this incarnation, this muddled, unfocused play is too self-consciously trying to get somewhere rather than letting things simply happen via the dramatic arc."
Stage Scene LA
- Not Recommended
"...Though it veers too ambiguously into the realm of (possibly drug induced) fantasy in its second act, under Dámaso Rodriguez's electric direction, NOgoodDEED is as cinematically thrilling a piece of live theater as you're likely to experience this or any year."
StageHappenings.com
- Recommended
"...Fortunately, though, all the elements (and the script) come together in the second act. The precisely choreographed fight sequences by Brian Danner (who also performs) provide a further saving grace. The diligence of the acting company, helmed by Rodriguez who seems to have time to concentrate on relationships in the second act, can be felt in Nick Cernoch's no-holds-barred teen hero, for instance. And there are enthusiastic performances from Johanna McKay, Robert Pescovitz, and Katie Marie Davies, to single out only a few in the large cast."
Examiner
- Recommended
"...There is a lot of humor throughout this show and it is never, not for a nano second ever dull."
BlogCritics.org
- Recommended
"...While the story is expansive, the performance is based in emotional realism and gives the audience a visceral, emotional, and darkly comic experience."
Campus Circle
- Not Recommended
"...Although well intentioned, "No Good Deed" is an overzealous train wreck of a play."
Socal
- Recommended
"...In the end I was impressed with the level of storytelling, acting, and the seamless integration of all the working parts."
On Stage Los Angeles
- Somewhat Recommended
"...The task is for the audience to figure out which is which, who is who and whether or not to care. With all the doubling going on, program references are a must. Director Damaso Rodriguez has his hands full. Skill levels are uneven and dialogue like "It's cool, man. Seriously, I'm good." speaks for itself."
