Seatbelts Required Reviews
Los Angeles Times- Not Recommended
"...John Barker's staging features a nicely detailed set (by Brian Graves) but hasn't solved the strained credibility in what unfolds on it. After a slow, fairly innocuous first act, the nasty revelations start piling up as multiple beers and tequila shots take their toll, culminating in a somewhat ludicrous implication that past disregard for human and animal life can somehow give rise to bonding and reconciliation.
LA Weekly- Recommended
"...The play is structured like a roller coaster with a dozen detours, but author Kimberly Demmary (who hints that her story is semi-autobiographical) has a steady hand on the psychological beats. Still, the emotions are too often overplayed - the cast is capable enough that director John Barker could scale back on the eye rolls."
LA Theatre Review- Recommended
"...What makes the journey so enjoyable (for the audience, if not for the characters) is Demmary's realistic dialogue and believable characters as well as the fine direction of John Barker and an accomplished cast of Cynthia Manous, Elizabeth Kimball and Chelsea Pitillo playing the three sisters as unique but never stereotyped personalities."
NoHoArtsDistrict- Recommended
"...The exchanges between the women are more cutting, funny, and poignant in the second act than the first; Tequila proving better than beer at loosening tongues. If anything, John Barker's direction in both acts is at times too composed for the material. We want the characters to speak a little louder, and behave a little crazier, even uptight Janet."