columbinus at Raven Theatre

Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended

"...Witten by Stephen Karam and PJ Paparelli, directed with slash-and-burn fury by Greg Kolack and performed by one of those immensely gifted young dream-team casts that seems to emerge from the woodwork here on a continual basis, the show achieves what the much-ballyhooed Broadway musical "Spring Awakening" never even comes close to doing."

Daily Herald - Highly Recommended

"...Kolack's fierce, kinetically staged production features excellent young actors including: Todd Aiello as the brain; Devon Candura as the beauty; Michael Peters as the jock; David Rispoli as the joker; Laura Schwartz as the Christian and Jenny Strubin as the artist. Last but not least is Abelson's galvanizing turn as the unhinged Harris, who emanates rage from every pore and Klinger's searing performance as Klebold, consumed by hate. Scrabbling, prowling and stomping across the stage screaming "You made me. You made us" they go from pitiful to frightening to hateful. Bravo."

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...This final touch makes Columbinus a touching memorial to the dead. But it is to the living that the play is addressed, as it is the living who must wrestle with the legacy that Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold left and the endless questions their actions continue to raise."

Chicago Free Press - Highly Recommended

"...No crime scene investigation could be more meticulous, contextual or insightful than this 135-minute offering by the United States Theatre Project. In the spirit and style of “The Laramie Project,” “Columbinus” (which ironically means “dove-like” in Latin) is a communal docudrama based on testimony gathered from police transcripts, survivors and, crucially, the two mass murderers of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre. The authors may have visited Littleton, Colorado to get the details right and the scenario straight but the events they deliver with scary intensity are a once and future tragedy. Taking us from Cain and Abel to Virginia Tech, the play dares us to do something as it makes us feel everything."

Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended

"...Offering the gravity of its subject in lieu of character development, columbinus uses pop songs like “Mad World” to do the emotional work the docuplay itself forfeits. The most effective moment is an actual 911 call a teacher made during the shootings; by comparison, despite Kolack’s decent, committed cast, this “real-life” play feels like it’s pretending. By the end, Dylan and Eric are little more than what the news clips showed us: two fucked-up kids in trench coats. As a result, the shooting scene doesn’t seem revelatory, but voyeuristic."

ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended

"...Director Greg Kolack has clearly hit pay-dirt with his brilliantly cast show and he knows what to do with it. While the piece belongs to another ensemble, this ensemble under Kolack has managed to make Columbinus their own."