Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...But there is also an undeniable whiff of the predictable here, and some situations that undercut the believability. Arundhathi's husband is never seen, so we don't have the full contrast of her relationship with that of her brother's. It's also never explained how someone with such a seemingly high-powered career can just run away from her job. And though we know that Naveen once harbored dreams of being an artist that he gave up at his father's urging, we don't know exactly what he does instead. (Keshav has one of those dramaturgically convenient careers - freelance photographer - that explains why he's traveled so much.) The conflicts and rapprochements feel too tidy for real dramatic tension to be sustained."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Anna C. Bahow's staging for Rasaka Theatre Company sometimes feels stilted, owing to the complete lack of chemistry between Kaiser Ahmed and Riley McIlveen as Naveen and his fiance. But the central family scenes are warm, funny, and nicely paced, thanks largely to the timing and charisma of Kamal Hans as Naveen's gruff-on-the-outside father and, especially, Alka Nayyar as the somewhat befuddled matriarch."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...If history mandates a happy resolution for the members of the Gavaskar clan, the intelligence reflected in Shekar's progress on the never-smooth road to enlightenment is to be commended. The Rasaka Theatre cast members sustain the tone under the direction of Anna C. Bahow, and deliver performances mirroring honest responses to honest questions with never a hint of sitcom caricature. Audiences of all ethnicities will see reflections of their own kin in this warm-hearted portrait, and a few may even recognize the sly references to DDLJ embedded in Matt Reich's infectious incidental music."
Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...Rasaka Theatre Company’s production is just the second of A Nice Indian Boy, which Shekar wrote as the thesis play for her M.F.A. at USC and was first staged last year by L.A.’s East West Players. The playwright has said she’s working on a screenplay adaptation, and frankly, it feels like a screenplay is what the play really wants to be, with its quick scene cuts and decidedly un-heightened storytelling (currently slowed by protracted, furniture-moving scene changes). The opened-up cast size, locations and potential for more backstory that film could provide might be just the niceties this almost-alluring story needs."
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...Now in residence at Victory Gardens Theater, the newly minted Rasaka Theatre Company is in hot pursuit of more diversity on Chicago stages. Their mission: to share the tales of South Asian-Americans, adding helpful variations on the music of humanity. Anna C. Bahow's earnest Midwest premiere of Madhuri Shekar's romantic drama dabbles delightfully at culture-clash comedy: At its best it proposes a few new ways to be Hindu parents coping with change, and gay lovers seeking a middle ground between family and freedom (it's not, as billed, a multicultural comedy, because the conflict here is essentially "all in the family")."
NewCity Chicago - Recommended
"...For a play that touches on serious issues, it is deceptively wrapped in the casing of a light, loving comedy, and this seems the best way to break the ice on such topics. "A Nice Indian Boy" is an enjoyable, yet effective, piece of art."
