Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...With so much melodrama occupying stage time, the causes of the flood get relegated to the subplot. Things really go awry in the second act, when chronology snaps, the motivations and nuances of characters start to blur and flatten, and it's tough to follow where and when these newly politicized performances are taking place (and who is watching). And the final scene, which is in a different time and place altogether, seemed mostly to confuse the audience."
Chicago Sun Times - Not Recommended
"...The actors, many of whom have been first-rate in other productions, are (pardon the pun) in over their heads in their two-dimensional roles, with Chamberlain given the particularly thankless job of squatting in a pit while enduring an interminable bout of diarrhea."
Variety - Not Recommended
"...Part of the problem is that the work seems so utterly an act of digression. We may see a single Lithuanian couple, one of the immigrant families who came to Johnstown to work in the mills, but other than that we really don't get to know a single resident of the town itself. Imagine a play about the Haitian earthquake that only follows the suffering of visiting American artists."
Chicago Reader - Not Recommended
"...The play trudges through an unfocused 90-minute first act without generating much credibility or urgency. But when the flood finally hits at the end of the act, it's still possible to believe that Gilman will let her characters confront something of real consequence. Act two, though, mostly demonstrates her political naivete."
Windy City Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...Gilman's research could have been crafted into an epic historical novel on the order of Gone With The Wind, a neo-Victorian tome to be contemplated over leisurely reading, instead of being compressed into two and a half hours of real time. The athletic cast vaults its text's chronological gullies and sloughs with plucky agility, but can't prevent us recalling the words of the young actress who recounts how her playwright father would first imagine his stage settings, then wait to "see who lived in them." The Goodman production has its scenery—in abundance—now needing only a more focused narrative to move in and make itself at home."
Copley News Service - Somewhat Recommended
"...It’s always a bad sign when the scenery is the best thing about a play. “The True History of the Johnstown Flood” displays some splendid sets, but a weak play remains a weak play, however it’s dressed up."
Talkin Broadway - Somewhat Recommended
"...It all seems that there are just too many ideas here, and in the end not much new insight provided into any of them. Still, the production is worthwhile for its depiction of the disaster's devastation, the consistently fine acting (including supporting turns by Janet Ulrich Brooks, Sarah Charipar, Cedric Mays and Randall Newsome) and the stunning physical production. Ana Kuzmanic's costumes capture a range from upper class elegance through rags and tatters. The script is very much a first draft. It needs a lot of editing and commitment to a more focused theme to be up to the levels of the design. As it stands right now, like the productions of the Baxter family, the visual design is the main attraction."
Centerstage - Somewhat Recommended
"...As the script dives into the Baxters' repertoire with a seemingly endless array of elaborate sets (designed by Walt Spangler), there's a play-within-a-play for every subplot. As brief portraits of particular theatrical styles (garish Broadway, stripped-down polemic, etc.), there's plenty to enjoy in these (mostly) comedic detours, but these bits could use some trimming, as they ultimately distract from the true storyline. The human interactions between the siblings, the rest of their theater troupe, Lippincott, and the various characters that grace the stage, are real and moving – but it often feels like there are too many undertones for any one message to truly shine through."
Chicago Stage Review - Somewhat Recommended
"...Sadder than the talent wasted on this production is the cartoonish treatment of the overwhelming tragedy. The incalculable human suffering and hubris of greedy capitalist corruption are set pieces to the laughable melodrama, reducing historic calamity to theatrical superficiality."
Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...
Johnstown seems to want to be many things: an indictment of class inequity, a statement on the introduction of European ideas in American theater, a did-you-know historical fiction. But in trying to pack in all of this, it doesn’t achieve any of it very deeply or enthusiastically. From the history to the characters’ emotional arcs, we feel we’re getting the CliffsNotes version. Though Falls’s production has three of Chicago’s finest working actors in Chamberlain, Grush and Janet Ulrich Brooks (underused in a number of small parts), they’re adrift in the currents of Gilman’s script."
ChicagoCritic - Not Recommended
"... Sadly, the ambition of the project is greater than the actual production is able to achieve. It is an interesting backdrop for a play, and the opportunities for dramatic action are numerous, so with a few re-writes and editing Ms. Gilman may be able to express all the ideas she is attempting to convey. Sadly, for the time being the message is drowned out by the incomplete feeling of the script and the visual spectacle."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Somewhat Recommended
"...Directed by Robert Falls, who has an excellent cast of players, I found that act one was the far superior part of the story and that act two, which started off strong, did not bring the show to a conclsuion that left me with a good feeling. There are times that a playwright seems to run out of ideas as to how to finish their work and that which begin with great hope doesn't quite make it to the finish line. This is one of those rare moments on the stage of The Goodman. The play ended abruptly and one can only hope that along the way, Ms. Gilman and Mr. Falls will reevaluate this so that the play can be complete. The supporting actors in this production need to be comended for the quality of work they put in as well as the leads. In particular Randall Newsome, who takes on seven roles and one cannot tell that it is the same man playing each of these characters. Janet Ulrich Brooks also takes on three roles in addition to that of Mrs. Lippincott, each with a new look and voice, including Clara Barton and her new Red Cross that has come to aid those in need."
Chicago Theater Beat - Somewhat Recommended
"...In the end, the Baxters inexplicably forsake their careers in the theater. A new cast is seen rehearsing James’ play on Broadway while James and Fanny are seemingly far away in a domestic life that doesn’t involve their “museum quality sets.” Their abrupt retirement would be perplexing, if the story had given audiences any reason to care. But there is no such reason, unless, of course, you want to know what became of all that marvelous scenery."
