Captain Blood at First Folio Theatre

Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended

"...There is, to be sure, a bittersweet undertone here. "Captain Blood" was originally slated to be directed by Rice's wife, Alison Vesely, the founding artistic director for First Folio. She died after a nearly two-year battle with cancer in November. One suspects that Vesely happily signed off on lines in Rice's script such as "Perhaps we should try an institution made up of women for a change.""

Daily Herald - Highly Recommended

"...It's a splendid start for this zesty romance/adventure tale adapted by First Folio executive director David Rice from Rafael Sabatini's 1922 novel. The dashing, dexterous Nick Sandys -- whose deliciously plummy accent is always a treat -- plays the fictional Peter Blood. He's a 17th-century soldier, doctor and all-around Renaissance man who's convicted of treason after treating insurgents injured in the Monmouth Rebellion against Britain's King James II. Enslaved, he's sent to Barbados where he impresses plantation heiress Arabella Bishop (a spirited, self-reliant Heather Chrisler). She purchases him over the objections of her uncle, the callous Colonel Bishop (Aaron Christensen), who takes an immediate dislike to the erudite doctor."

Around The Town Chicago - Recommended

"...I confess that I had never heard of Captain Blood, a 1922 children’s novel by Rafael Sabatani adapted into a Warner Brothers film in 1935, until seeing the new stage adaptation at First Folio. However, its influence on subsequent escapist adventure stories was quite evident. Under the direction of Janice L. Blixt, the wooden hull-like chapel at the Mayslake Peabody Estate is a quite appropriate venue for this Caribbean pirate story, and an eleven-member cast headed by Nick Sandys charmingly leads us through the story with a wink and a rapier flourish."