Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...Director Joe Jahraus has a cast a couple of wily old Chicago actors in Darrell W. Cox and Larry Neumann, Jr. Their on-the-edge fraternal performances contain some genuine amusements and pleasures, especially in the first part of the evening, when Cox goes into his full-on cowboy mode, which he always does well, and a very game Neumann, playing a shivering weasel of a character, displays every inch of his body, filled with brutal scars for this occasion. Profiles has been upping the ante on its design work and this excellent set, from Shaun Renfro, is a very shrewd college of gothic Midwest bland. There's even a live band, twanging away in a little skybox as the blows land, the guilt trips and blood flows."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Certain stage effects look unintentionally silly, information is established only to be ignored minutes later, and the obvious goes unremarked for long periods of time. The tattoos are shoddy, too. See it anyway. For all its profane wit, Rossi's script is anchored in a hard, vivid suffering. And, as Mitch and Roy, Larry Neumann Jr. and Darrell Cox make sharp work of both the profanity and the pain."
Windy City Times - Recommended
"...Rossi's parable of deliverance, running a tight 90 minutes, is not for the the faint of heart (or weak of stomach). That said, playgoers can find respite from the intensity by focusing skyward to Jeffrey Levin's string band, providing precision-pitched incidental music underscoring a plot as gritty as it is redemptive."
Talkin Broadway - Highly Recommended
"...There's much blood, gore and bruising in this violent play-which makeup artist Carleton, violence designers Victor Bayona and Richard Gilbert of R & D Choreography make convincingly real. At the heart of it all, though, is a meditation on the existence and nature of God that is thoughtful and penetrating. If God exists, why does he allow some people to suffer so greatly and put them in such seemingly impossible situations? "
Centerstage - Highly Recommended
"...Rhett Rossi’s “In God’s Hat” is a play concerned with the soul, but its composite parts are quite bodily. It is a play made up of bruises and scars and shotgunned beers and bloody knives, bathtubs filled with bodies and shovels filled with dirt. This makes it the perfect show for Profiles Theatre, who specialize in theatricalized punches to the gut. Their production “In God’s Hat” is a near perfect marriage. "
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...Once things start moving, though, it's one big, calculated grin. Rossi dots his plot with enough adrenaline-charged twists to back up the story's murkiness and rope in his viewers as accomplices. Likewise, for all their characters' flaws, Cox and Neumann milk what little humanity there's to be had in each of them, even if it's only black comedy or sheer pity. The rest is a shot of hard whiskey: dizzying, overwhelming, and absolutely satisfying."
ShowBizChicago - Recommended
"...What I have always treasured about Profiles is their unabashed mission to delve into plays no other group in Chicago would dare to. More than that, Profiles has the talent to accomplish that end goal, leaving reckless abandon behind to get to the meaty truth behind a character, no matter how uncomfortable that is for the audience to witness. In fact, as a critic, that is the joy of their existence. In God’s Hat is a tricky offering as Redtwist’s recently closed The Beautiful Dark dealt with an equally perplexing moral family dilemma but with a much more cohesive and confident script. Here, the performances surely keep the play afloat but having two brothers share at least some of the same characteristics would help for the believability of this piece to shine through."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...The writing is strong ; the action is surprisingly both funny and violent; the ensemble acting first -rate. For those theatre patrons who crave gritty theatre, In God's Hat will be a hard-edged treat. This production reaches into your psyche as only the live stage can. Leave the kids at home but do witness this worthy show."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Highly Recommended
"...IN GOD'S HAT is not for everyone. It's violent. It's tense. It's gross (nod out to Makeup Consultant Jessica Honor Carleton on Neumann's nose). It's Profiles! They are kicking off their next 25 years with the gritty, visceral acting that we have come to expect."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...This show is a beautiful demonstration of what happens when you put four talented, committed actors in a very small space and ask them to play angry, hateful characters with rough morals, hard pasts, and a desire for revenge. You can see Cox's internal struggle though his tough guy exterior, while also pitying Neumann's sad, almost childlike character who has all but given up. John Victor Allen plays the heavily tattooed, Nazi ex-con, and in such an intimate space you definitely feel the threat. Bruce Cronander plays a more subtle yet equally intimidating gang boss whose mere presence puts you on alert. With such strong characters only a few feet from your face, you will get sucked into the high powered story and find yourself forgetting to breathe at times."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Recommended
"...“In God’s Hat” is polarizing. People who do not enjoy being uncomfortable in their play going and object to graphic violence should attend at their own risk. But the play is more than just a potboiler. The writing is meaty, the action is gripping, the social and moral issues are handled in adult style, and the production values are first rate. And the play will make even the most hostile viewer laugh, and often. The show is a throwback to the earliest days of the Steppenwolf Theatre, where audiences felt lucky to get out of the theater in one piece. For connoisseurs of in-your-face theater, “In God’s Hat” is the best game in town."
