Longer! Louder! Wagner! presented by The Second City at Lyric Opera

Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended

"...Now, in its second collaboration with the Lyric — “Longer! Louder! Wagner!” — it has truly tapped into a richly comic vein of pure Rhine gold. Subtitled “The Second City Wagner Companion,” this original, 90-minute musical comedy, inspired by the German composer’s monumental, four-part “Ring Cycle,” also happens to be a deliciously naughty bit of sanctioned heresy with an aptly zany script and a couple of sensational “legit” operatic voices all part of the mix."

Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended

"...There are plenty of references to Wagner’s flair for drama, as well as the dramaturgical leaps that opera often gets away with. But that’s all much of this show feels like: references and leaps, barely skimming the surface of Wagner the man or his art. The characters are for the most part thinly drawn with hazy motivations. And at Wednesday afternoon’s press preview, at least, sound issues caused many a line to land awkwardly if at all in the cavernous Lyric rehearsal hall where the show is being performed. One factoid I did pick up from the show: It took Wagner 26 years of work to complete the Ring Cycle. Longer! Louder! Wagner! could probably have used a few more drafts itself."

Chicago On the Aisle - Recommended

"...The setting is Transylvania. Oh, wait a minute. I mean Schaumburg, and Bayreuth. I was confusing “Longer, Louder Wagner!,” the wild and crazy Second City-Lyric Opera of Chicago send-up of Wagner’s “Ring” operas, with the Mel Brooks-Gene Wilder film “Young Frankenstein.” Silly me. And yet…he is alive!"

Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended

"...Annaliese Toft directs a brilliant cast of eight: six from Second City, two from Lyric Opera. Jesse Case makes his Chicago acting debut as the genius composer Richard Wagner, playing piano throughout, as well as singing and acting. Sayjal Joshi, Randall Harr, Alice Stanley, Jr., and Travis Turner play a multitude of comic characters, some with German accents, from a librarian girlfriend and a flamboyant Bavarian king to radio talk show hosts and suburban theater actors. As Brunhilde and Wotan, Tracy Cantin and Jonah D. Winston show off their fine voices and practiced technique. It’s lovely to see them close-up in the more intimate confines of Lyric Opera’s rehearsal hall. Get ready for a show that has a little bit of everything and a lot of fun."

The Fourth Walsh - Highly Recommended

"...I’m only mentioning a few of the terrific bits. Add in Alice Stanley Jr. as a librarian, Turner as an anti-Wagner and Case as a cross-dresser. The laughs come easy and often in this smart spoof. Act quick to get this show in. There are only six performances. The show is being put on in the exclusive William Mason Rehearsal Hall with cabaret lounge seating. LONGER! LOUDER! WAGNER! is LOL! LMAO! WONDERFUL!"