Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...Under musical director Roger L. Bingaman, the full orchestra is a tad too tentative for Mame's joint - and those thrilling tempos are few and far between - but that doesn't spoil the show. You sense that Hogenmiller has told his big cast (there is just one Equity contract) to embrace the humanity and progressive point of view of the piece and bring some joy into our lives, life being a banquet, even if we need a Mame, now and forever, to guide us to the point of entry."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...The leading lady of Light Opera Works's 50th-anniversary revival of the show, belter Nancy Hays, looks good and sounds great, but under Rudy Hogenmiller's by-the-numbers direction she's dramatically bland; her battle for Patrick's soul lacks any urgency. The result is a disappointingly conventional take on a wonderfully unconventional character. Kudos, however, to choreographer Clayton Cross and his high-stepping kicklines and cakewalks."
ShowBizChicago - Highly Recommended
"...Fasten your seat-belts, we are about to take off! Evanston's Light Opera Works (soon to be named Music Theatre Works) offered up their second production of the 2016 season - Mame last night and a new star was born! Nancy Hays as everyone's favorite Auntie Mame celebrates the Roaring 20s, overcomes tragedy and sails through life without missing a fad or a dance step. From the moment she descended the circular staircase with her trumpet until the final curtain she had the audience firmly in her hands."
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...In Light Opera Works' revival, warmly cooked by Rudy Hogenmiller at Cahn Auditorium in Evanston, a silver medal, not bronze or gold, goes to Nancy Hays, a likable but not terribly charismatic and occasionally irritating anti-aunt. Running the Mame gauntlet from the pizzazz of "Open a New Window" to the heartbreak of "If He Walked Into My Life" (one of Herman's best), Kays never drops her energy. She can hoof up a storm to Clayton Cross's spirited choreography or go goofy in the disastrous "The Moon Song" production fiasco."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...The sets (by Adam Veness), the vivid period-perfect costumes (by Robert S. Kuhn) with the glorious sound of Jerry Herman's varied score conducted by Roger L. Bingaman and played by 26 musicians (a rarity today!). Every young musical theatre artist need to see this show so that this generation can experience a seldom produced classical musical. The genius of Jerry Herman together with the chops of top leads such as Nancy Hays, Mary Robin Roth and Alicia Berneche make Light Opera Works' Mame a stunning success. Newbies to Mame will see why this is a wonderful Broadway Musical."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...The stage version that is now being presented by Light Opera Works has it all! Directed to perfection by Rudy Hogenmiller, with very slick choreography by Clayton Cross on an amazing set designed by Adam Veness, this is a production that will have you not caring that the production is very close to three hours long. The ensemble is so solid in every move that the time just moves along. I heard a number of opening night patrons say to others that they must have a problem with their watch. How could act one end at 9:30? The play started on time at 8 p.m.! Yes, act one is 90 fantastic minutes of memories and story-telling."
Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended
"...Here is a production, complete with a vibrantly talented ensemble, that would make Jerry Herman grin with pride. It’s a bright, colorful, optimistic show brimming with broad characters, sparkling humor and peppered with moments of heart and truthfulness. While not groundbreaking, this production is solid, competent and faithful to the original Broadway hit. Mame’s credo that “Life is a banquet, and most poor sons-a-bitches are starving to death” is simply her brash way of advising audiences to live for today. And in its all-too-brief Evanston run, the banquet is hot and awaiting eager new audiences, hungry to fill their plates with musical merriment from a bygone age."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Recommended
"..."Mame" remains a good audience show. Who can resist the appeal of a charming, devil may care heroine doing battle with the forces of stuffy and prejudiced conservatism, and winning? It's not a perfect evening, with problems shared by the original show and the Light Opera Works revival, but both venues also contribute plenty of sparkling moments, so on balance the production is worth seeing."
