Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...These artists are highly experienced, and this is a solid-enough rendition of the work of the writer who, more than any other human, invented dominant Western notions of dramaturgical expression. The issues there are expressed with clarity and a certain human vulnerability, crucial tragic qualities that are oft overlooked in plays such as this. You feel that from Marquez, who clearly understands the fragility of Clytemnestra's position, and from the aptly worried chorus, who are trying to make sense of the doings of this crew."``
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...A sense of death and foreboding is at work from the moment you take your seat at Court. Anchoring Scott Davis' imposing all-black set is a Greek Revival style town home of the sort you can still see in New York's Washington Square (a brilliant bit of "updating"), with a massive door at the top of a stairway. This is the home of the victorious general, Agamemnon - heir to the royal House of Atreus, husband of Clytemnestra, and father of Iphigenia, Orestes and Electra."
Chicago Reader - Recommended
"...Agamemnon may test the patience of modern audiences, even in Charles Newell's fluent, often playful 90-minute staging based on a translation by Nicholas Rudall. The eldest of the three great classical tragedians (i.e., those whose work has survived down to our time), Aeschylus relies heavily on his chorus, which means a lot more telling than showing. But it's worth sitting through the talk to see how Mark L. Montgomery's Agamemnon and Sandra Marquez's Clytemnestra have evolved since we first saw them, in Iphigenia in Aulis."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Rudall's adaptation is fantastic, slyly drawing out the play's misogynistic undertones. It is effortlessly modern without sacrificing the poetry, funny without losing the horror. His Electra can't come soon enough."
Chicago On the Aisle - Highly Recommended
"...Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and commander of the vast Greek expeditionary force that conquered Troy after 10 years of fighting, is home from the war at last - victorious, exhausted and, not least, wreathed in guilt. That is the proposition of Aeschylus' tragedy "Agamemnon," which now enters its final weekend of performances in an imaginative, keen-edged production at Court Theatre directed by Charles Newell."
ChicagoCritic - Somewhat Recommended
"...Unfortunately, the scenes after Agamemnon arrives are as fast as the proceedings ones are slow. Rudall wisely did away with Agamemnon and the chorus's shouted conversation while he is being hacked apart, but he retained a tedious list of all the mountains Clytemnestra set beacons on. And it's a pity for her character that Newell rushes through the second half of the play, because he winds up presenting the battle of the sexes rhetoric at face value. Really, Clytemnestra is a hypocrite. She kills Cassandra because she is either jealous of the unwilling sex-slave of a man she plans to kill and has been cheating on for years, or she is taking advantage of an opportunity bought with her daughter's blood to wreak vengeance on the House of Troy, just like Agamemnon."
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"...This adaptation of Agamemnon by Nicholas Rudall modernizes and simplifies the often difficult dialogue of Aeschylus, making it much easier for the audience to follow. His translation produces a snappy 90 minute 1 act play. Charles Newell once again has done fine work in coordinating the talented cast of actors, ensuring smooth transitions, although at times I found the Chorus to be overly enthusiastic. The cast shows great energy, especially Adrienne Walker (Cassandra), Mark L. Montgomery (Agamemnon), and Sandra Marquez (Clytemnestra) ."
Chicago Theatre Review - Somewhat Recommended
"...“Agamemnon” is the second part in a three-play cycle that Court is preparing, one that covers the entire House of Atreus narrative. Next season, Court will conclude the cycle with “Elektra,” and one can only hope that the source material is at the level of the cycle’s first play, and not its current production."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Somewhat Recommended
"...Although the Court production has its flaws, the real problem with "Agamemnon" is that it's too slender a story to engage an audience for even 85 minutes. The chorus chat goes on interminably, while the more interesting characters too much remain unseen and unheard offstage. Let us hope that the concluding play next season will return to the vitality and tension of the first leg of the trilogy."
