Hobo King presented by Congo Square Theatre at Athenaeum Theatre

Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended

"...In Javon Johnson's powerhouse play "Hobo King," now receiving a stunningly realized world premiere by Congo Square Theatre, these lost and homeless souls are given memorable names, histories, callings and dreams. And they are brought to life in a fantasia that is all too real by a supremely talented ensemble of nine actors - under the fierce yet almost balletic direction of Anthony Irons - that keeps you enthralled from first moment to last."

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...he group includes clairvoyant street artist Blind Man (Lionel Gentle), animalistic Freda (the uproarious Velma Austin), and wheelchair-bound Preacher Man (Lyle Miller), whom the movement crowns, with a tinfoil coronet, its Hobo King. Javon Johnson's script is a palpable call to action, stitching together dance elements and rousing rhetoric to convey a timely and urgent message. The play's demands are forceful and its execution is fluid, but some of the passages are excessively turgid."

Windy City Times - Recommended

"...Whatever lesson you take away from this collection of hard-luck stories, there is no denying the opportunities offered by Johnson's eloquent repartee to showcase of the talents of a cast led by the always-commanding Velma Austin as the demon-racked Freda, and featuring the musical-theater expertise of Brian Keys, Kyle Smith and Lyle Miller ( the latter in a rare non-singing appearance ). Audiences are advised to take special note of Lamarr J. Kidd as the agile-footed Doodlebug, whose kinetic resemblance to Savion Glover is nothing short of uncanny."

Time Out Chicago - Recommended

"...Still, Hobo King has its flaws, some of which are amplified by director Anthony Irons. Many of the scenes find the characters simply sitting around and talking, which here translates to a kind of listlessness. And the show is never able to integrate the spectral figure of Lazy Boy, who returns quite often to haunt and inspire the living in equal measure. These moments are expressed through dance, but they feel like nothing more than choreography. These interludes feel like a playwright trying to insert something more radical into an otherwise staid, realistic script—but Hobo King is at its best when it’s just sitting on the curb, doing the quiet, thankless work of making people see people. That’s radical enough."

Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended

"...But ‘Hobo King’ is not, in the end, a depressing play. Johnson and director Irons invest their characters with considerable warmth and charm, and though the play does not arrive at any pat conclusions on the problems we face, it does provide us with a road map for the journey ahead. “I think ‘Hobo King’ shows us what is possible,” Irons says. “Even for a group with so little material wealth or political power, where there is community, there is hope.”"

NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended

"..."Hobo King" is a story of pain and loss but most of all a story of hope. It's a gentle reminder that trouble may come but it doesn't last always."