Great Expectations Reviews
Time Out Chicago- Highly Recommended
"...We wonder at Pip's fascination with Estella and connect with the newfound shame he internalizes thanks to the cruel ministrations of Miss Havisham (Mary Winn Heider) and her frosty ward, and cringe as his obsession with becoming a gentleman causes him to shun his kindly brother-in-law Joe (Paige Smith), "ever the best of friends." Yet even as he's narrating his own actions, Tepeli takes us along Pip's emotional arc impalpably, organically, expertly, growing into his character's confidence with winning assurance of his own. With the cast rounded out by Caleb Fullen's goofy comic turn as Pip's comrade Herbert Pocket and Cody Proctor as the intense convict Magwitch, Great Expectations continues to live up."
ChicagoCritic- Recommended
"...As a Dickens adaptation, the show is long, and I wish the evening performances didn’t start so late. There are a few plays-within-the-play that could have been left out. Still, anyone who isn’t satisfied just seeing A Christmas Carol this winter would do well to give Great Expectations a try. Given the challenges of a smaller theatre, many of Gerace’s solutions are ingenious. The cast seems to make up far more people than they do, and the whole show is a celebration of the imagination."
Chicago Stage and Screen- Highly Recommended
"...The joy in Great Expectations comes when you let yourself be manipulated by the agile hand of the cast and company. Some could bemoan the loss of a sophisticated Masterpiece Theatre style work here. However, Strawdog’s approach should be judged on its own merit as an original form. In that it is wholly successful. A must see this season!"
Chicago Theatre Review- Highly Recommended
"...This highly recommended production is top notch. Through it, director Jason Gerace accomplishes everything he sets out to do. He tells his story well, infuses Dickens’ saga with spirit, strength and spontaneity and he transports his audience to another world in a journey they’ll be all the richer for taking."