Moses possesses a unique gift for blending the exceedingly brainy with the knowingly sexy and neurotically chaotic. He thrives on complexity, but he also knows that if you are going to have scenes filled with substantive talk about molecular biology, algorithms and the Traveling Salesman Problem (a matter crucial to theoretical computer science), you also had better have some attractive people taking their clothes off and at least trying to get into bed with each other.

That’s the all but unbeatable combination Moses finesses with such dexterity and comic self-awareness in “Completeness,” arguably his best play to date. First produced in 2011 at California’s South Coast Repertory, it is now receiving a knockout Chicago premiere at Theater Wit, with whip-smart direction by Jeremy Wechsler, exceptionally sophisticated performances by an ideal cast of four, and visual design that is a perfect complement for its intimacy-meets-hi-tech world view.

Moses’ scenes, spot-on in the way they capture insecurity, desire, the excitement of connection and the terror of what happens next, are beautifully rendered by Holzfeind and Valada-Viars. They clearly are exceptionally smart (you can’t fake this dialogue), and they have one of the best sex scenes you’ll see on any stage.

Gray, a “real-life” junior at the University of Chicago, is a proven talent, with a delicious mix of guilelessness and shrewdness, and she is perfection in several roles. Jessop also plays multiple roles, wide-ranging in age, and does so with panache.

Joe Schermoly’s sleekly modern cabinet set, combined with Michael Stanfill’s video design and Michael Rourke’s lighting, contains its own rich set of variable possibilities.

'Completeness' is the real deal.

Sun Times

Moses has found a terrific analogy, even if he does pound the nail hard: “Is there really a way to know up front for sure?” Molly asks Elliott about the viability of her data but, just as surely, about the viability of their new relationship. There isn’t, of course. Theories can only be tested, never proven, and as Elliott demonstrates via a famously unsolvable math problem, the number of paths they could take is exponentially too large to count. (Rae Gray and Andrew Jessop nicely embody a number of other fish in the sea.) Jeremy Wechsler’s smart, handsome staging, with a sleek set by Joe Schermoly and video design by Michael Stanfill that each hold a number of surprises, rides the line between sensual and cerebral. Meanwhile, the charismatic Holzfeind and Valada-Viars parlay higher math and genome mapping into persuasive pillow talk, demonstrating proficiency in yet another scientific discipline: chemistry.

Time Out Chicago

Itamar Moses' very enjoyable new play "Completeness" might just be the only tolerable kind of rom-com: one that celebrates the seductive power of smarts. "Completeness" has a lot to enjoy. At Theater Wit, there long has been a love of sexy plays about math, comedies probing the meeting point of romance and logic, and, in this most recent case, a play that ponders whether a computer scientist can submit himself to biological imperatives (yeast cultures, you might say) long enough to bed a cute biologist, not to mention whether the cute biologist in question can apply enough mathematical logic to make the relationship functional, in the binary sense. Moses knows these kinds of characters well and his play is on the best footing when it stays with a core couple. Valada-Viars is so relentlessly intense, she single-handedly holds your interest. The show also has the benefit of a very zesty high-tech set from Joe Schermoly that represents the hearts of the geeks with a series of graphic images on the walls of their studies/boudoirs. It's a clever way to look at a couple who cannot separate their personal lives from their research. And, these days, who can?

Chicago Tribune

Moses has written a refreshingly original, contemporary and non-negotiable take on a very old subject. Breaking the science/sex barrier is a lot trickier than overcoming the brain/blood one. Wechsler’s consummate cast superbly negotiates Moses’ custody battle over ideas and intimacy. Geekily gesticulating in flights of rigorous analysis, Holzfeind manages to be forensically eloquent and emotionally clueless at the same wonderful time. Valada-Viars’ achingly questioning Molly is a marvel, so perceptive in one realm and obtuse in another.

The title notwithstanding, it’s their incompleteness that wins us over. By play’s end, their willingness to accept uncertainty in life’s most important transformation amounts to a victory for the species. Sometimes you just “go with the flow.” Don’t worry about unrepeatable outcomes. Imprecisely phrased but painfully palpable, life is short and love is shorter.

Stage and Cinema

Itamar Moses avoids tired stereotypes and offers some new insight on love and connection; his fully fleshed-out characters bring home the difficulties in store as people who live in their heads act with their hearts.

Eliott (Matt Holzfeind) is a computer-science grad student vying for the attention of Molly (Kristina Valada-Viars), a biology grad student in search of help organizing her research. Interdepartmental cooperation leads to sex, which leads to love, which leads to the bittersweet confusion about “the future” that Moses’ script nails.

Holzfeind and Valada-Viars accurately portray lovelorn twenty-somethings trying to negotiate the frontiers of love, making two mistakes for every one they desperately try to avoid. Their vulnerability is sweet and universal; audience members shifted uncomfortably during the heart-wrenching monologues in which both characters own up to their errors. We’ve all made those amorous missteps; kudos to Moses for dramatizing them so poignantly.

New City

Theater Wit’s Midwest debut of Itamar Moses’ Completeness (same playwright of another Theatre Wit darling, The Four of Us, also directed by Wechsler and proving the two make a formidable team) is a a true thinking nerd’s romantic comedy. Put a bunch of TED Talks in a room with a sophisticated look at love in the 21st century, and you might get an idea of how this production came to be. Fearless in both its willingness to be unapologetically high-minded and an unblinking look into the harsh truths of romance, Completeness has many pointed, frequently funny things to say about how Gen Xers and Millennials are coping with the fallout of the failures of 20th century ideals while wading into their own uncharted terrain.

Both actors deserve extra credit on their exam for being able to riff on the complex dialogue without missing a beat. Thanks to the brisk pacing of director Jeremy Wechsler, the action never drags—the two hour fifteen run time virtually zips by as you become absorbed in the lives of these relatable, flawed characters hiding behind the esoteric to prevent potential pain.

And what dialogue it is. Not just showy for its own sake, the metaphor at the core of Completeness is utterly compelling: that as we increase the complexity of our lives and become the first generation to be raised not seeking but filtering information, we also become trapped in the ‘analysis paralysis’ that too many solutions offer. Like a trebuchet of truth, Completeness lobs insights that land with audible heaviness into the audience. It’s not for the faint of mind or heart. Exploring the perils of overthinking in matters of the heart (emotions most likely evolved to help us see through logic, not be slaves to it), Moses has composed an often brilliant synthesis of a show that breaks with many traditional romantic comedy tropes.

Chicago Theatre Beat

Everyone is talking about their feelings in this very intense yet somehow disconnected and apathetic way and I couldn't help but think: damn, this is exactly how my friends think about love. The characters in Completeness sometimes have these really big chunks of dialogue about Traveling Salesmen, heartache, love, mice, and feelings. Usually in a show the audience is all like, "oh long dialogue chunk, #bored" but these characters are psychoanalyzing their problems in this really enrapturing and real-time way. These dialogue exchanges show that Moses has a real understanding of making a moment, which is all we really want from a good show.

...And that's where Completeness hit me the most; the show says things people are thinking but don't necessarily want/know how to verbalize. Through the show, we realize that we talk about things in metaphors and that is both interesting and sad and well, complicated. We feel all the feelings and package them in metaphors. This is what Completeness gives us: a better understanding of our own metaphors.

In Jeremy Wechsler’s winning production, the tug of war between heart and head makes for a gripping spectacle. As might be expected in a play about computer scientist and molecular biologist, Moses’ script is a dense and heavy affair. A weaker production could easily collapse under its weight. Happily, Holzfeind and Valada-Viars are both charming and adept performers, making Elliot and Molly into three-dimensional, flesh-bound humans, rather than the talking heads that they could so easily become. You like them, occasionally you loathe them (but never for too long) and you want for them to find happiness. Amidst the ever-increasing science jargon, they never allow the show to become about anything other than heart.

However, the most thrilling aspect of Wechsler’s production is its bold design. Starting with a set by Joe Schermoly that looks like the Apple store of the future and sets a stark, antiseptic tone, Wechsler than explodes that sterility in his transitions. Utilizing video (by Michael Standfill) and tracks of running lights (by Michael Rourke) all accompanied by an original score (Joe Fosco), Wechsler is able to create a key sense of narrative propulsion.

Centerstage Chicago