Press about BBT

"After just a short while sitting across a table from the
budding Chicago playwright, composer and director
team of Rebekah Walendzak and Jeffrey Bouthiette, one
can almost immediately tell a number of things. First,
the directors of the Bare Boned Theatre company and
founders of the Andersonville-based live gay soap opera
The Ville are certainly not shy. Nor are they the sort of
people who’d be afraid to mention that a stray piece of
spinach had snuck its way into your teeth after dinner.
No, these are the sort of Chicagoans who don’t mince
words and refuse to settle for anything less than the
biggest hopes and dreams for their newly-formed
theatre company..."
Behind "The Ville" - EDGECHICAGO

"Performers such as Anna
Schlegel (Lainey) and
drop-dead funny Mary
Hollis Inboden (Denise)
stand out, and the show
has a sense of visual style
seen in the pulp-inspired
opening video titles
(Jason J. Adams) and in
some clever staging
elements (Rebekah
Walendzak, director;
Lauren Swedlow, scenic
designer)"
Jonathan Abarbanel,
WINDY CITY TIMES

"The goal they set for themselves was to create an
unorthodox production in an unorthodox setting
that would allow both seasoned and green-as-grass
actors alike to sharpen their skills while stomping
out stereotypes of what a leading actor-and a
community-should be...The episodic nature of the
play allows the writers and cast of The Ville to each
have a hand in the molding of the characters as they
move along. While the writers have a skeleton of
topics they?d like to cover, they are open to adding
new material based experiences they or their actors
may have in the near future."
Kelly McClure, TIME OUT CHICAGO

"Comedy is...the name of the game here in this ambitious project. Whether in the form of drunken
escapades or snappy retorts, there is much humor on display in this modern soap opera. With
episodes set to change the first Monday of every month, this first go-round introduces us to the
characters of THE VILLE -the residents of modern Clark Street and the surrounding gay-friendly
neighborhoods... Overall, the characters are likeable relatable and worthy of future exploration.

While some first-time theater companies might have suffered under the weight of such ambitions,
thankfully Bare Boned Theater has the knack - and more importantly, the talent - to carry this
entertaining vision out. One can surely look forward to more entertaining exploits from the
characters in the comical, emotionally exploratory THE VILLE."
Brian Kirst, CHICAGO FREE PRESS