A Jewish Joke at Victory Gardens Theater - Biograph

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...The play's humor comes in large part from Johnson's physical presence-his duck-footed walk and drooped shoulders impart a man who is always performing, no matter the occasion. As he tells Jewish jokes from his "collection," a box full of index cards, Johnson wonderfully channels a bygone era of Jewish funnymen, who never forgot to laugh, even during the terrors of the McCarthy witch hunt."

Stage and Cinema - Recommended

"...What energizes the pathos of Bernie’s plight is the sweetness of this simple yuck-master. He just wants to trigger in strangers assorted guffaws, chortles, titters, snickers and belly laughs. That can’t be a crime against your country unless the land has gone loony, as in anti-Semitic. Johnson and Freedman’s multi-faceted monologue, impressively detonated by director David Y. Chack, reveals the unsung and unsuspected worth of a not-s0-mere jokester. Never has “he who laughs last” mattered more."

NewCity Chicago - Recommended

"...Jewish humor has become a panacea with a long tradition of combining entertainment with social justice, amusement in light of terrible events. Johnson, who plays Bernie and also co-wrote the play with Marni Freedman, is an unquenchable, unstoppable talent, engaging the audience with distinctive movements, hand gestures and a laugh that could delight the saddest boychik in the room. It's easy to forget he's alone on stage, so captivating is the writing of his phone calls. David Y. Chack's direction allows Johnson to command the stage. The choice of alternating red and white lighting only adds to the spaces in Johnson's rare moments of silence."