“Alice and Fanny’s continuing enactment of a lifelong rivalry for Frances’s love is, in theory, perfectly believable...But they do it so bizarrely and relentlessly throughout the overlong play that you wonder what Thorne wants to show us....Every scene that seemed well-observed on the page felt dreary and obvious when performed, a problem I ascribe not to the actors...but to the mystery of stage time...Staged with uncharacteristic awkwardness by the terrific director Lila Neugebauer."
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"I never imagined I would spend a whole night hoping Lois Smith would die, but such is the unexpected effect. Smith is not to blame : At 87, the great stage actor is in peak form, and gives a detailed, convincing performance...The situation is rife with potential tension, but first-time playwright Thorne and director Lila Neugebauer can’t seem to locate it. Dramatic events arise and disappear willy-nilly...Most of the play (at least half) seems like dull, episodic flab."
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“Proves so lifeless that you find yourself in the uncomfortable position of wishing its main character would get on with it. It's a shame, because a formidable ensemble of talented actors has been assembled...But their efforts are not enough to lift the turgid dramatics of this work by newcomer Thorne...Her inexperience is revealed in the piece's tonal inconsistency and awkward transitions, suggesting that it would have benefited from further development.”
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“A new play with sensitive writing, informed acting, wise and naturalistic staging...A profound work by a fresh talent...So beautifully written that it is impossible to believe it’s the playwright’s first play...What saves 'Mary Frances' from becoming maudlin is the superb ensemble work, headed by the great Lois Smith, the sublime writing, and the naturalistic style of gifted director Lila Neugebauer that adds up to the kind of moment-to-moment realism we haven’t seen since Elia Kazan."
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"Navigates a head-spinning number of subjects...With an equally unwieldy number of characters...The motivations of many characters are wildly shortchanged...Never stops feeling like a hastily edited version of a longer play...Neugebauer's usually invisible directorial hand is strangely heavy here...A relatable experience for those who've dealt with death firsthand. Thorne's first-produced play holds a clear mirror up to reality. It just forgot that its medium is theater."
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"There are times when the acting talent on stage does indeed elevate the effectiveness of the material, but film producer Thorne's first stage play is more of a promising outline of a drama without sufficient embellishments to make it interesting...To its author's credit, 'Peace for Mary Frances' makes seamless glides from its funnier moments of family angst to its more subdued scenes, but the end result is more perfunctory than emotional."
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"Despite its very real virtues -- not least of which is an unblinking gaze when it comes to its difficult subject -- falls some lengths short of being a real play. Not even a lovingly directed production featuring a fine cast led by the wonderful Lois Smith can entirely paper over this stubborn fact...The director, Lila Neugebauer, handles these materials with supreme delicacy, getting polished performances from her cast."
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“There is an unwieldy amount of information to take in...Part of the problem lies in the fact that there are two storylines here, either of which could support a play on its own...Smith gives us a richly developed character...Neugebauer manages to keep all of the moving parts in motion within the play's overwrought structure, but there so much going on that it feels like we are binge watching a reality TV show that is unfolding in real time.”
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