Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...And most important of all, "Hillary and Clinton" probes the potential power of exposed weakness, another oft-overlooked Trump skill from the master of the pivot. Perfection in the political landscape is intimidating and off-putting, although many candidates past and present have failed to appreciate that truth. Flaws can get you elected — especially if you have a certain facility with the redeemed-sinner narrative, as, of course, did one of the Clintons."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...Just when you would swear there was absolutely nothing more that could possibly be said about Hill and Bill, along comes Lucas Hnath's surprising and even subtle play, "Hillary and Clinton," currently receiving its world premiere at Victory Gardens Theater."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...The rest of the 90 minutes shows us a sleepless, poorly polling candidate (Cheryl Lynn Bruce, looking not at all like our Hillary) strategizing with her campaign manager, dickering with her rival, and-most particularly-coping with her canny, compulsively underhanded husband. William Boles's white-on-white set and Chay Yew's intentionally static staging can become soporific at times, but there's something weirdly compelling about Hnath's alien Bill and Hill, something ennobling about his notion that in some universe theirs is a love story."
Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...Before the start of Lucas Hnath’s new work, which is somewhat more interesting than it is engrossing, the Victory Gardens stage is nearly bare. Then the cast and members of the crew appear, to roll out a large rectangle of white carpet and roll into place two white door units, a white bed and a white desk—a hyperminimalist representation of a New Hampshire hotel room. Actor Cheryl Lynn Bruce crosses directly downstage to address us about the infinite nature of the universe, and thus the infinite potential for other Earths, which might contain other women named Hillary, running for president in 2008. Think of her character, Bruce gently implores us, as one of those other Hillarys."
Stage and Cinema - Not Recommended
"...You just know that there are more compelling and believable alternative universes that Hnath could have forced us to visit. With nothing at stake but stupidity itself, this half-baked concoction has zero urgency. Sadly, Yew's four fine actors give their all to Hanth's little. The result: a forgettable new work dumbed down to a sitcom-sensitive audience; a waste of space, time and the universe we're stuck in."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...There are two important things to know when deciding whether to see Lucas Hnath’s world premiere Hillary and Clinton, now at Victory Gardens. One is that Hnath’s writing style has characters repeat the same sentences with slight modifications as they mull over their motivations and try to win over their peers. All four of them speak in this way for the entire length of the play."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended
"...All of this is not to discount the principal players’ acting or even Chay Yew’s direction – though a bit stiff at times, there are no shortage of persuasive, comic, and heartfelt moments. But they’re playing in the undesirable no-mans-land of a biopic that’s trying not to be a biopic. And by not taking a more compelling stance on the Clintons, the play and its actors are in the unfortunate position of competing with the most entertaining election in recent memory."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...First of all, I must say that this particular play comes at a weird time in history, insomuch as we all know that Hillary is running for the nomination of the 2016 upcoming Presidential election. At the very onset of this story, Hillary (the marvelous Cheryl Lynn Bruce) tells us that there are many galaxies and Earths. That it is possible that the one we are viewing is a far from where we are. In fact, it is probably just an "alternate universe". Yeah! That's it!"
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...Victory Gardens artistic director Chay Yew seamlessly negotiates the delicate balancing act between realism and once-upon-a-time fantasy. There is no visual resemblance between the actual Bill and Hillary and the play's characters, the woman being played, with great emotional resonance, by African American actress Cheryl Bruce and an aging and portly Bill Clinton by John Apicella, a very fine actor imported from California. The ensemble is completed by a pair of local actors, Keith Kupferer as Hillary's campaign manager and Juan Francisco Villa as the Other Guy, both excellent. Although there is virtually no physical contact among the four characters, the intensity of the emotions, both personal and political, bond them tightly."
Third Coast Review - Somewhat Recommended
"...This is the theoretical world of playwright Lucas Hnath’s Hillary and Clinton at Victory Gardens, in which, perhaps, thousands and millions of worlds float among the ethers – some bound to be alike, and others not. However, when this world of Hillary and Clinton happens to find itself preoccupied with relaying a “different” reality that is far too much like our own, the show’s message mostly comes as a mixed result. (Pun intended, sure)"
NewCity Chicago - Not Recommended
"...So the play tries not to be about the Clintons—while being about the Clintons. The result of this creative but precarious dynamic can be jarring, as when Hillary decides, after losing just the first primary election in Iowa, to withdraw from the race in exchange for the vice presidency. Would any major candidate ever do such a thing so early without a compelling reason? More importantly, would someone as ambitious and savvy as Hillary Clinton ever choose that path? The move doesn’t seem politically or personally genuine."
