Assassination Theater Reviews
Chicago Tribune- Highly Recommended
"...So, "Assassination Theater," which can be combined with a stroll round the museum, is a show well worth catching. Whatever the efforts of city tourism boosters, international visitor interest in the Chicago mob remains high, hence all those rat-a-tat tours around town. This tourist-friendly show, at least, has the rigor of journalism and actual sourcing, not to mention some real Chicago-style acting from Michael Joseph Mitchell, who plays Levin, Mark Ulrich, who plays the retired FBI agent (and true mob-as-assassin believer) Zack Shelton. They're joined by Ryan Kitley and Martin Yurek, playing a whole assortment of characters in this unstoppable American narrative. It's a gallery that includes killers, victims, senators and J. Edgar Hoover, whom Levin, arguing that the truth will out, clearly believes was behind some assassination theater of his own."
Windy City Times- Somewhat Recommended
"...A chronic hazard of prose writers-turned-playwrights is a tendency to lose track of running time; as Shelton reminds his colleague during the protracted second act, he can always write another play. In the meantime, whatever your opinions regarding the events of that fatal Dallas day, if you enjoy true-crime "reality" shows like 48 Hours or spy-fiction in the David Baldacci/Daniel Silva mode, feel free to revel in the atmosphere of conspiratorial unity generated by Levin's provocative thesis."
Gapers Block- Recommended
"...If you're a news junkie who enjoys being immersed in fascinating facts about our political and criminal history, then I have a theater recommendation for you. Assassination Theater: Chicago's Role in the Crime of the Century spells out in rapid-fire data points how we have been misled all these years about the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy. And that of his brother Robert five years later."
Time Out Chicago- Recommended
"...Regardless of whether you buy into the theory, what Levin and director Kevin Christopher Fox like to call a "theatrical investigation" plays more like a TED Talk. Despite Levin's title and internal nods to the metaphorical "theater" of the alleged government cover-up, there simply aren't dramatic stakes in what's essentially a lecture delivered by actors as proxy."
ChicagoCritic- Highly Recommended
"...This documentary drama speaks of the inter-governmental cover up and foul ups and their belief that the "one shooter" acting alone fact was essential for public calm and stability. That was the main thrust of the Warren Report and in 1979, the Select Committee tried to put to rest any lingering public doubts. Bravely, Hillel Levin and Zack Shelton's thirst for knowledge leads to this re-examination of events of the assassination. It may not change anything, but it is still worth knowing what actually happened and why. The startling theory that the Mob was involved in the 1933 assassination of Chicago Mayor Cermak and the 1968 assassination of Bobby Kennedy besides the death of JFK, makes for scary history."
Around The Town Chicago- Highly Recommended
"...As our Playwright, Levin and director, Kevin Christopher Fox explain this, it is a new kind of theater. While they have many facts to outline their thoughts of what took place on that fateful day and the can implicate the underworld figures that were tied to Chicago, and much of what we see is based on fact, they do expect that audience members, who come from different places will see things differently than they do, so while they feel that they will convince each of us that they are in fact correct, it is best to treat this evening of entertainment and mind opening as you would in reading a book, but instead we are seeing it live. Ah, the beauty of live theater, in a whole new light!"