fools

​Best Actress Award  -   TULSA AMERICAN FILM FEST
​Best Actress Award  -  IDYLLWILD INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
​Audience Award   -  DANCES WITH FILMS FESTIVAL
Susan is played with quiet - almost desperately
​powerful inner-forthrightness by Mary Cross
~ CLENT BOWERS REVIEWS
Mary Cross and Michael Szeles make this a minor gem
~ FORCES OF GEEK
FOOLS is grounded by the strong,
credible performances by Szeles and Cross
~ FILM INT

SOMETHING CLEAN

 An outstanding performance by
Mary Cross... Moving and powerful
~ AROUND THE TOWN
A poignant and daring portrayal by
Rivendell ensemble member Mary Cross
~ PERFORMINK
Mary Cross has her craft nailed, and watching
​[Charly] ​crawl out of her shell is a delight
~ BUZZ NEWS
Three fine Chicago actors – Patrick Agada, Mary Cross and Guy Massey – express multiple layers of pain. 
As Charlotte, Cross embodies a sheltered wife who struggles to regain a sense of safety.
~ PICTURE THIS POST

MOTHERHOUSE (jeff award - best ensemble)

beautiful and devastating and moving and surprising.
This is the kind of intimate storefront theater
experience that Chicago is known for
~ CHICAGO STAGE AND SCREEN
All four are played by skilled ensemble members
who know how to add veracity and heart to a new play
​~ CHICAGO TRIBUNE
 The ensemble flawlessly embodies these women
and their complicated relationships
~ THE CHICAGO READER

wrenS (jEFF NOMINATION - BEST ENSEMBLE)

Brilliantly contrasting Spence,
Mary Cross is a lively sparkplug
 ~ CHICAGO THEATRE BEAT 
Gwyneth [is] deftly handled by Mary Cross...
Well written, well directed and well acted.
What more could an audience ask for?
~ AROUND THE TOWN
The nuanced work by one of the best ensemble casts on any Chicago stage makes this remount a must-see
~ CHICAGO THEATER ADDICT

twisted knots

The production’s real stand-out is Mary Cross.
She creates distinct personas for each major beat of
the play, and when every façade rolls away, the
audience is left with a raw, flinty woman who is a
better actor than her partner realizes 
 ~THEATRE BY NUMBERS
Cross emerges as the more powerful of the two performers: She disarmingly smolders
~ NEW CITY STAGES
Mary Cross turns in lively, tangy work as Carla
 ~ THE CHICAGO READER 

eat your heart out

The most entertaining moments of the play occur
during the scenes featuring the comically nervous
yet self-consciously mannered Mary Cross...
Cross and Szeles are hilarious and sincere
 ~ NEW CITY STAGE 
​Cross and Szeles are so authentic in their interactions that we are completely enthralled. 
~THE FOURTH WALSH
Cross and Szeles are the primary source of humor
in the piece, and they have impeccable comic timing
~ TIME OUT CHICAGO
THEATER IN CHICAGO
Interview with Mary Cross, Mike Szeles and Tara Mallen  from EAT YOUR HEART OUT

women at war

The recruits, superbly played by Mary Cross, Krystel V. McNeil, Brittani Arlandis Green, Paula Ramirez, Charli Williams and Danielle Davis, are an eclectic group.
The cast’s impressive physicality, emotional intimacy
and winning ensemble spirit make them every bit
the female equivalent of “Black Watch"
 ~ CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
Riveting, realistic, and profoundly insightful.
Kudos to the cast
~ CHICAGO CRITIC

meg's new friend

Beautiful performances by all four actors - but particularly Mary Cross as an almost-40 woman
whose boyfriend ends up having a relationship
​with her best friend. Heartbreaking.
~ DC THEATRE SCENE
The best of off-off-Broadway... Each actor
breathes credible life into his or character:
I believed Mary Cross as she sobbed on the street
while talking to her brother about her loneliness 
~ THEATRE IS EASY
The performers create convincing contemporary characters: Cross with her anger... a detailed portrait
​~ BACKSTAGE