Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...Admittedly, the show probably offers a few more treats for people who know their Shakespeare. (An Earl of Oxford joke might sail over the heads of those unacquainted with the "authorship" debate.) But even those unaffected by Bardolatry will find much to enjoy in "Her Majesty's Will." By the end, Blixt's tale provides an uplifting homage to how common people find uncommon reserves of poetry, courage, wit and honor in times of unrest."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Adapted by Robert Kauzlaric from a 2013 novel by Chicago writer and theater artist David Blixt, this play spins a bizarre and circuitous tale implicating the roguish playwrights in a counterplot to save the Virgin Queen from Catholic terrorists. With so much grunting swordplay and pastiche soliloquizing, it's a bit like a theme-park ride through the swashbuckling Elizabethan underground. But Peter Greenberg is a memorably gouty Robert Greene."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...This is a dizzying array of moving parts to keep in motion over two and a half hours and, on opening night, director Chris Hainsworth's narrative pace required a few minutes to achieve optimum velocity ( Bryan Bosque should also tone down Kit's fey mannerisms sooner ) but, before long, the nine-actor ensemble portraying 22-plus characters, led by Javier Ferreira's William you-know-who, were swapping personae with protean dexterity, assisted by Jeffrey Levin's sound design painting an aural picture of an environment well beyond the confines of Eleanor Kahn's skeletal scaffold-and-wagon scenery."
ChicagoCritic - Not Recommended
"...If the substance of the hijinks relies on its referential association to Shakespeare's works, lore, and time-at most it is clever. But clever only gets me through the first twenty minutes. This is probably why, in the second act, we're introduced to Will's internal conflict: to become his own man, apart from his father's influence. To this, again, I chuckle: are we honestly expected to feel anything for Will's conflict-now, after over an hour of nonsensical hijinks? But then we're treated to some short rallies on art between Will and two other sophisticates. Again, the shifts in tone to "weighty" matters only serve to accentuate how absurd this play really is: one minute our lead characters (caricatures, really) are involved in a slapstick brawl, the next minute they're discussing art-or, even more textually unmotivated, embracing for a passionate kiss (twice)."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...The rest of the cast all play multiple parts. As the Chorus, Heather Chrisler sets the scenes. She also plays Lady Helena, a lady-in-waiting to the Queen. As Emily Ball, sister to Cutting Ball (Mike Ooi), she holds her own among the pub set, which also includes Robert Greene (Peter Greenberg), John Savage (LaQuin Groves) and John Lyly (Martel Manning. Don Bender plays Sir Francis Walsingham, nominally Kit's superior."
Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended
"...Made even more exciting by David Blixt's carefully choreographed swordplay and combat direction, seasoned with original Elizabethan-sounding music by Jeffrey Levin and nicely lit by Diane D. Fairchild, this animated adventure story, filled with intrigue, passion and wild sword fights will thrill even the most jaded Shakespeare scholar and will inspire many others to read Blixt's original novel, conveniently for sale in the lobby. Welcome to Shakespeare and Marlowe' wild adventures!"
The Fourth Walsh - Somewhat Recommended
"...Despite the lukewarm script, Director Chris Hainsworth orchestrates moments of innovative adventure. Aided by Designer Eleanor Kahn's multi-functional set, an oversized armoire on wheels spins into a carriage. Kahn's dusky rooftop windows and movable metal framework are effectively used to simulate some chase scenes and swashbuckling antics. The action is secondary to the ongoing focus on Ferreira and Bosque. Act 2 brings in colorful support from the ensemble (Peter Greenberg , Don Bender, Dan Cobbler, LaQuin Groves, Martel Manning, Mike Ooi). Although the motley crew bring the shenanigans, their attempts to lighten the mood with merriment feel more silly than humorous. At my performance, the audience's response was uncomfortably quiet. The laughter was infrequent."
Picture This Post - Recommended
"...Blixt and Kazlauric's script mythologizes how such a person could come to exist. We see Shakespeare take inspiration from Thomas Kyd, the first of England's Renaissance playwrights, and struggle with how to maintain a healthy sense of pride in his culture while being brutalized by its inequalities and seeing worse happen to those below him in class. With the truth of Shakespeare's formative years forever lost, Her Majesty's Will makes for an enjoyable fantasy that distils the meaning of the legend."
