Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...Berry's production is smart, deftly cast and well-paced. It does, though, sometimes get trapped in a confining set that creates a cramped kitchen where, in an apparent, hyper-realistic nod to David Cromer's "Our Town," Thalken's Marla cooks breakfast on a real stove. The sessions with Blue's Dr. Jensen all take place on a riser, leaving little room for the basement, where Troy tries to get his pal to understand that reduced expectations do not mean the end of a life."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"... You feel it in John’s tense, ever-vigilant, sixty-something parents, played ideally by Meg Thalken and Norm Woodel. You hear about it from John’s unswerving best friend, Troy (the hugely winning Ed Flynn), the bearish, bearded Web designer who is full of heart, and lost in his own way, but who, dressed in Gandalf costumes and Garfield T-shirts, stands by his pal. You learn about it from John’s pro bono psychiatrist, Dr. Jensen (a riveting turn by Judy Blue). And even the differently ranked Goldman employees (played by Gabriel Franken and Robert Koon) betray a certain insecurity along with arrogance."
Chicago Reader - Recommended
"...Still, a great part of the fascination here is psychological. The obsessive aspect of childhood is often ignored in art, but the fact is that kids can fetishize the darnedest things. Hinderaker brings that out neatly in his treatment of John's list and the ways in which it stunts his growth, condemning him to remain at an emotional age of nine."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...The progress of our hapless everyman's reintroduction to his own life could have been recounted in a series of comical re-enactments (cf. Groundhog Day), or perhaps as a step-by-step medical procedural, but Andrew Hinderaker instead plunges us straight into the mind of our bewildered protagonist, each new discovery revealed through the intervention of outsiders fully aware of his plight. This mosaic narrative structure requires some acclimation on our part, but the anguish reflected in Nicholas Harazin's portrayal of the would-be crusader reluctantly confronting his best-laid plans gone irreparably awry, his agony affirmed by an adroit supporting cast under the direction of Jonathan Berry, invokes our immediate empathy with a poignancy that never diminishes for an instant."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...In World, as in his Suicide, Incorporated, Hinderaker takes a seemingly far-fetched premise and finds in it deep veins of compassion and humanity. Director Jonathan Berry and a terrific cast explore the large and small consequences of great expectations. As John, the appealing Harazin smartly balances his character’s unlikable tendencies with his disorientation and hurt while he learns he might have to start with changing himself."
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...Much of the show’s power comes from its perfect cast. Harazin can shift from youthful exuberance to frustrated rage in a flash. Those swings are well reflected in the expressions of his parents, Marla (Meg Thalken) and Frank (Norm Woodel), who manage to feel both like individuals and also embody parental archetypes that connect with audience members’ own memories. Thalken’s nervous energy is a perfect contrast to Woodel’s terseness, which only breaks long enough to encourage John to chase those dreams that everyone else around him has long since deemed madness. Troy holds everything together, a fact only seen in the second act where he also falls in despair and the show’s emotional level becomes almost unbearable. The payoff is worth it though, leading to a late scene that explains how he and John became friends, a scene that provides the most beautifully sincere moment in an already honest show."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...Andrew Hinderaker is a storyteller of immense talent with a profound understanding of the human psyche. Add the tight direction by Jonathan Berry and the terrific work by Nicholas Harazin, Judy Blue (as Dr. Jensen), and Ed Flynn as Troy and “Change the World” unfolds as an enthralling psychological thriller with a unique perspective on our fixation with personal goal setting and self-imposed striving for success can overwhelm us if things don’t go as planned. Memories of touching personal moments can make life worthy – those are the triggers we need to remember, Hinderaker reminds us. Don’t miss this gem!"
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Recommended
"...Art imitating life. Life imitating art. The second act doesn’t go where I thought it would. It shifts. It’s becomes less “Ground Hog Day” and more “Girl Interrupted.” It loses the unexplainable mysticism for diagnosable reality. Awww, John! I’m sorry that Hinderaker did that to you. I recommend I AM GOING TO CHANGE THE WORLD. But if I could change one thing, I’d change the second act."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"... The intimacy of Chicago Dramatists theater on Chicago Avenue is very special. What makes it even more special is the new works they bring to their stage- works that make you think and works that most of us can relate to, in one form or another. Their current production, a World Premiere, written by Andrew Hinderaker ( the playwright that gave us last year’s “Suicide Incorporated” at The Gift) is a story about dreams of the future. Think back to your youth and all of the plans you made in your mind about who you were and what you were going to do that would “change the world” and you have the premise for this play- “I Am Going To Change World” smoothly directed by Jonathan Berry."