Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...This is a simple show - the gifted musical director Jeremy Ramey accompanies the four singers just on piano and you are back out on Glenwood Avenue in 80 minutes. But the No Exit Cafe is ideal for Brel, and few revues conjure up this much emotion. Sesso, a contralto with enough sadness and determination in her voice to float a battleship, is the highlight of a fine cast, every one dedicated to the no-holds-barred declarations of feeling that make up the Brel catalog. And if you don't know the late Belgian - he recedes into history, as we all do - here's your chance to acquaint yourself with him, in all his ambiguity and desperation."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Under the musical direction of Jeremy Ramey, four vocalists revive Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel's eminently dramatic ballads and drinking songs against the backdrop of a crumbling 1959 Amsterdam. There's only piano accompaniment, but the trade-off for losing the brass and accordion that bolster Brel's opulent swells is taking in Joshua Stephen Kartes's rich arrangements and Randolph Johnson's stunning vocal interpretations all the more clearly."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...Director Fred Anzevino and musical director/one-man orchestra Jeremy Ramey's score doesn't welcome us with a robust anthem in praise of beer only to have us cry into them, however. The selections spanning a swift 80 minutes—rendered in Arnold Johnston's superlative translations—reflect tempos ranging from the swaggering tango-rhythms of the sardonic "Jacky" to the bass-heavy boogie-woogie backbeat of "What Have We Done," while the delivery evokes prototypes as varied as Maurice Chevalier and Kurt Weill. The likewise diverse vocal soundscape encompasses Randolph Johnson's rich baritone profundo and Jill Sesso's delicate treble, with David Moreland's and Neil Stratman's distinctive tenors anchoring the harmonies."
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...Anzevino's quartet amply honor Brel's brave distress, reversed romances, and open-ended alienation. The one drawback is the show's overall mood of contagious melancholy. There's a lack of variety in the material that forces this foursome to act as much as sing out their very specific sorrows. But they do it with disarming honesty-and you're bound to find your own losses among Brel's deep sympathy for life's underdogs."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...Sitting at the back of No Exit Cafe, hearing the play of the piano within the dim room as the singers breathed life into sentiments older than myself, I caught a glimpse of an old world that was once new and fresh-a world, one imagines, in which the patrons of this "shabby waterfront bar" made love to their glasses as passionately as they made love to their women-as passionately as they rode and communed with the high seas. Then I looked around and saw a bunch of reviewers arched over their papers, jotting notes, and the magic faded: a revue can take you so far, but it's not the thing in itself. Yet, if you're open to the experience, this show has the potential to take you far enough."
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"...Brel's lyrics are poetic and deal with sex, death, broken hearts and romances as well as cynicism. His writings are for the most part statements of honesty and for some hard to take! The songs tell the story as each man tries to win the heart of the Whore even though each knows it is only for the time being. Man 2, at least in my opinion, was the winner and the chemistry between Stratman and Sesso was powerful stuff. Sitting at the single table right next to the stage, where the couple played several numbers, I could easily feel the "heat" as these two worked to win the heart of the other. Man 2 would pay for the night and Sesso, although being paid, would have a night worthy of her deep-rooted feelings. Please note that even the photos are very "black andwhite" just to stay with the mood."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Eloquently staged with sincerity and spirit, simply choreographed and lit with an almost film noir moodiness this honestly-acted and emotionally touching musical feast is everything one could desire on a hot summer evening. Add to this a selection of beverages and optional dinner and dessert, all served by the hardworking cast, and you have a full evening’s entertainment. From Jeremy Ramey’s swelling piano overture to the show’s jazzy title song that opens and closes the show, this revue is bound to inspire new fans of both Jacques Brel’s music and the consistently unrivaled appeal of this wonderful theater company."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...I would love to see this company present the first Jacques Brel revue, which I think has better songs overall. But as a sampler of the great man's music, it's totally recommended. I hope Johnson finds more work on the Chicagoland musical theater scene. He has the voice and physical presence to ornament any musical stage in the area. Happily he and Anzevino found each other. Add Sratman, Sesso, Moreland, and Ramey and the results are as satisfactory as any show of its size in town."
Chicago Theater Beat - Highly Recommended
"...Step into a lonely Amsterdam bar in 1959. What will you find? If you are the team behind Jacques Brel's Lonesome Losers of the Night, the answer is: an openhearted bartender, two winsome soldiers and an enigmatic yet vulnerable sex worker. Sounds like the beginning of a joke, but with the Belgian songwriter's score, the story quickly becomes more complex. Hearts are won, then broken. Childhoods are remembered, in all their fond, wild glory. Most of all, connections are made. Theo Ubique's revival of its critically acclaimed 2008 revue is a perfect season closer, with comedy, drama and romance in spades."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Somewhat Recommended
"...Lonesome Losers may not be lost in translation, and it may not be a full-blown musical, but at some point, the plot got lost at sea. It all depends on whether folks want to go all out on their lonesome to find it."
In The Loop Magazine - Highly Recommended
"...At its best, musical theater offers pleasures that no other performing medium can, and "Lonesome Losers" is very much a part of that most excellent tradition."
Picture This Post - Somewhat Recommended
"...LONESOME LOSERS OF THE NIGHT is likely to satisfy Brel enthusiasts or those in the mood for low-key reflection. For more casual fans of his greatest hits, the show has too small a range to sustain excitement. But that's all right. Plans are afoot for Theo Obique to relocate to Howard Street in Evanston next year. When that happens, it's more than probable this company will carry its ability to charm and astonish across the border."
NewCity Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...The revival of Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre’s 2008 musical revue to close out their current one didn’t quite make it back to the land of living, rather sticking somewhere in purgatory. The direction of Fred Anzevino, music direction of Jeremy Ramey, choreography of David Heimann and stage management of Mina Slater all set up this tale of sailors at port in an Amsterdam bar harmoniously and perfectly. And yet, the beauty and melancholy of Belgian singer/songwriter Jacques Brel’s musical lyricism seemed dimmed, numbed somehow."
