Hansel and Gretel: A Wickedly Delicious Musical Treat presented by Emerald City Theatre at Broadway Playhouse

Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended

"...Nonetheless, this is a great score: witty, melodic, varied and, most important of all, fresh and alive. Working with the writer-director Ernie Nolan (who is credited with the book), Roberts has written spunky, independent, attitudinal lyrics for Gretel, who is played with a truly delightful edge by Alissa Walker. I'm reluctant to make comparisons with "Frozen," but I can't help it, given the way Roberts catches a similar musical sensibility to that of Bobby and Kristen Lopez. Gretel and Hansel (let's stick 'em that way 'round) have the kind of eye-rolling, contentious-but-loving sibling relationship that really makes the early sections of this show pop."

Chicago Reader - Recommended

"...This world premiere bills itself as a "wickedly delicious musical treat," and indeed the tone, Euro-hip with some goth bravado mixed in, is a welcome return to the dark fairy tale co-opted by a saccharine Disney sensibility. With the brothers Grimm (Jay Mast and Jeff Kurysz) as narrators, we follow a version of the story where Angelika, the children's mother (Jennifer T. Grubb), has disappeared into the Black Forest; her kids' wanderlust stems simply from their deep desire to see her again. We journey too, realizing that, like Hansel (Jack Ball), we all want to believe in some kind of magic."

Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended

"...While this new version of the familiar folktale offers catchy music, played by the Grimm Brothers’ Band and sung by a talented company of excellent actors, it’s the play’s characters that outshine the story. Certainly songs like “I Am Always Near,” “There Will Be Magic For You To Find,” and “Crumb by Crumb” are tuneful and toe-tapping, they tend to bog down the story and dilute the magic that younger children have come to the theatre to enjoy. Older kids and their parents, however, will more likely enjoy the musicality of this upbeat production that sports a positive theme of love and family."