Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"..."Haymarket" put me in mind of the very fine musical "Ragtime," which could serve as a useful model as this new piece moves forward, especially since Kornfeld's score evokes a similar era - offering a sense of the strictures of the time, with the intermittent explosion of both American populism and the music of the anarchists' mostly Germanic roots. This is a very accomplished suite of songs - performed by a young cast of capable and clearly committed actor-musicians who play these characters and then retreat to the shadows to play, say, the piano or the fiddle. Elizabeth Margolius' direction lacks bite and narrative focus in places (she is working with a tricky book), but I was greatly taken by her visual ideas and the rich sense of ensemble she's developed for this enveloping piece."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...With a skillfully shaped book and lyrics by Alex Higgen-Houser, and soaring music by David Kornfeld that captures a sense of the story's 19th century American roots, but is fused with just enough of a modern beat, this bold, ambitious, eerily timely and fervently performed show chronicles how the mass labor demonstration held at Chicago's Haymarket Square (at Desplaines and Randolph Streets) on May 4, 1886 was undermined by a bombing and subsequent gunfire. And it arrives just in time for the 130th anniversary of the notorious event."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...But Alex Higgin-Houser's alternately overfocused (act one) and underfocused (act two) book and workmanlike lyrics turn much of the two-hour show clumsily diagrammatic. And the inconsistent effort to focus the show around Lucy Parsons, firebrand widow of one unjustly executed Haymarket "coconspirator," ultimately comes to nothing. Glimpses of greatness abound. Rigorous reworking awaits."
Windy City Times - Recommended
"...All nine actors in the show double on musical instruments in grand style: numerous strummed or bowed string instruments plus piano, accordion, tambourine, trumpet, even spoons. They're all 19th-century folkloric instruments that suit composer David Kornfeld's lilting tunes which range from labor anthems to waltzes to ballads. Alex Higgin-Houser's lyrics always are intelligent and become increasingly pointed in Act II, in which the men are tried and hung despite international appeals for clemency. This particularly sharp quatrain caught my attention and is typical of the show's quality: "Blame is a fire with suspicion at the center; Do you blame the fire or the fire's inventor? Blame is a fire, don't fan the flame; Innocent or guilty both burn the same.""
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...This two hour folk operetta grabs us from the start and carries us through the events and injustices of the Haymarket Affair. I only hope that regional theaters and national tour producers get to see the merits of this wonderful show. I hear that producers are always looking for new worthy shows. Best they get to The Edge Theater in Chicago to see Haymaket: The Anarchist’s Songbook. This show has so much promise – don’t miss it!"
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...One of Chicago's newest "hotspots" when it comes to dining out, the Randolph Street area, just west of Halsted, has some strong history for the city of Chicago. The story of Lucy Parsons, daughter of a slave and the widow of Albert Parsons, who on the last day of her life, revisits Haymarket Square (the aforementioned area) to retell the story of the unjust trial that followed, so that she can have the closure that she needs. This is the tale, or should I say, the FOLK tale we are shown in the World Premiere of "Haymarket:The Anarchist's Songbook" now on the stage of the Edge Theater located at 5451 N. Broadway in Chicago."
Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended
"...The score – almost a song cycle, though there are some lengthy book scenes as well – has an authentic folk song sound to it that distinguishes it from those aforementioned musicals. The songs seem authentic to the characters as well, and the actors accompany themselves a musical instruments that include guitars, violins, piano and percussion. Yes, the actor-musician thing has been done before as well, but it’s getting common enough to seem a convention and in any case here it fits. The cast – though most are assigned to specific major characters – take multiple roles in telling the story. We get the feeling of a travelling troupe of performers of the 1890s telling us the story, though director Elizabeth Margolius wisely is not obvious in establishing that concept.
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Somewhat Recommended
"...So, can a revolution make its mark without bloodshed, as the musical asks? Can a revolution ever truly coalesce into unity? Who can say? New musicals certainly can't make their mark without some growing pains, that's for sure. That's how they can coalesce into a unified whole. And with talent like this-in our own neighborhood, even-sparks are gonna fly and blow us all away, that's for sure."
Third Coast Review - Recommended
"...Alex Higgin-Houser created book and lyrics and David Kornfeld composed the music. Elizabeth Margolius’ direction and movement design bring all the pieces together for a rousing two hours of story, dramatic music and an occasional tableau. The nine talented cast members all sing and play a variety of American-roots instruments, including guitars, fiddles, mandolin, ukulele, cello, banjo, harmonica, washboard, cajon, piano and even a melodica. “La Marseillaise,” the French national anthem and a song with revolutionary roots, is an occasional refrain. Aaron Stephenson’s sound design is well executed, ensuring lyrics are clearly understood without diminishing the power of the instrumentation."
NewCity Chicago - Not Recommended
"...The responsibility must be laid at the feet of the creators. Alex Higgin-Houser's book and lyrics are insufficient to keep the head from nodding. David Kornfeld's music for this piece, with its Woody Guthrie verse-chorus formula, fails to assist in illuminating the factual characters or the massacre's revulsions."
