Glory Days presented by Refuge Theatre Project at Flat Iron Arts Building

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...Gardiner's book is long on aimless conversations, short on story. And Blaemire’s rock songs, though diverting, can't do anything to jump-start a musical that's dead in the water. Which is a shame, because Gardiner has gathered a wonderful cast of four fresh-faced, energetic singer-actors (Bradley Atkinson is particularly appealing as the show's narrator and leader of the pack) whose movement he orchestrates with a finesse that makes me wish the show had some heft to it."

Windy City Times - Recommended

"...Whether this will prove sufficient to accomplish Refuge Theatre Project's goal of attracting "hipsters under 25"-a demographic notorious for embracing impermanence-remains to be seen. In the meantime, playgoers who survey their early years from the perspective of mature hindsight ( i.e., geezers like me ) may recognize the irresolute comrades' distress at the prospect of change as a response, not to regret over the changes that have occurred in their world, but to apprehension of the changes about to occur-an ambivalence that individuals of all ages can share nowadays."

Chicago Theatre Review - Somewhat Recommended

"...Despite a promising cast, nicely directed and supported by first rate musicians, this musical just isn’t that unique or exceptional. It’s honest and sincere, which is its strength, but it often feels repetitious too familiar. After Jack’s story is told, his friends’ reactions aren’t really that surprising. Ultimately, most audience members will simply ask themselves, “So what?” This company does their best with the material they’ve chosen, and their mission is admirable. However, Refuge Theatre needs to find and produce shows that tell a stories about exciting characters for whom the stakes are higher."

Splash Magazine - Not Recommended

"...“Glory Days” wants to be a show that probes the mystifying experiences of youth, examines changing identities, and then tie it all together with a realistic coming-of-age lesson about growing up and letting go. These are honorable themes and well worth singing about. You just wish it were in more capable hands. Here the writing is so predictable, so bland, and so amateurish that everything comes off fuzzy, detached, and dull instead of engrossing and thought-provoking. To make things even worse the show doesn’t resolve any of the conflicts it creates nor does it give these characters the thoughtful exploration of ideas or dig deep enough to reach any meaningful self-discoveries without feeling stale. "

BroadwayWorld - Somewhat Recommended

"...Refuge Theatre Project's production of contemporary musical GLORY DAYS may be the only show I ever see that features four male actors drinking Natty Ice onstage. And yet in a musical about four best high school friends who reunite for the first time after their freshman year away at college, this seems like a perfectly natural activity. In moments like this, GLORY DAYS accurately and earnestly captures that in-between space between childhood and adulthood, and the odd feeling when home no longer feels like home but college doesn't yet feel comfortable, either. But like the adolescent characters in the musical, young composer-lyricists Nick Blaemire and James Gardner's musical suffers from some growing pains."