Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...There are a number of fascinating performances on deck. The ever-exotic Anthony Fleming III, playing the noble savage Queequeg - a tough assignment in many ways - turns his son of a king into a restless but authoritative adventurer. Raymond Fox, playing (among others) the captain of the ship who arrives to ask Ahab to change course and look not for the whale but his fellow whaler's lost son, brings his customary note of sadness to the show. As Ahab says no, as he must, the rich characters drawn by Fox and Donahue home in on the underbelly of the scene. You don't feel anger at Ahab but you totally understand him, even as Fox reveals the human cost of such powerbrokers with agendas."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Lookingglass Theatre's world premiere production of "Moby Dick" is a triumph of grand theatrical imagination, deep thought, superb acting and eye-popping, ingeniously deployed physical daring. Superbly adapted and directed by David Catlin, who finds the perfect balance of poetry, madness and muscle, the show works a remarkable sea change on Herman Melville's massive novel, a landmark of world literature. And in this process of transformation and condensation it not only holds fast to the book's essence, but enhances the dark magic and fever-dream quality of the story."
Daily Herald - Highly Recommended
"...Lookingglass' remount has a kind of rugged grandeur befitting its setting: the 19th-century whaler Pequod. Captained by the relentless Ahab, it's crewed by venturesome men who become unwitting comrades in his doomed quest to kill the great white whale that bit off his leg."
Gapers Block - Highly Recommended
"...The extremely creative staging by Courtney O'Neill is visual magic. Dark blue silk fabric becomes the waves of the sea and a splendid white cloud of fabric floats over our heads and the great white whale finally appears to the crew of the Pequod. Three female actors (Emma Cadd, Kasey Foster and Monica West) perform dozens of roles, flinging off cloaks to become fish and swooping around and over the stage to become wind or waves."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Produced in association with the Actors Gymnasium, the play begins quietly with Ishmael (Jamie Abelson) uttering his famous request and recounting his first encounter with Queequeg (Anthony Fleming III). But once the Pequod sets sail, the stage lights up with action. Actors scramble up the set and hang near the rafters, intestinal rigging draped around them. Melville’s words haven’t been forgotten, but neither has the power of brute, tribal theatricality."
Chicago On the Aisle - Highly Recommended
"...Translating a great novel into a successful stage work is hardly a mere matter of reformulation. They are different beasts, novel and play: It isn’t enough to make the one familiar again as the other, iconic characters now costumed before us flitting in and out of scenes together, speaking lines that resonate deeply in our collective consciousness. It is rare to find a novel fine-tuned to the idiom of drama."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"...Ten superb performers play eighteen characters caught up in a commercial venture gone toxic. Their reactions to this nautical nightmare mirror the multifaceted responses of all mortals beset with folly and fear. At the piteous end, Moby Dick culminates in a homesickness that can only be quenched in the deep."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...Moby Dick is a harrowing and intoxicating adventure that explores revenge, obession, sea adventure and destiny. This Lookingglass production is, in my view, the finest show that Lookingglass has ever mounted! Seeing this physically challenging production will give you a glimpse into the depths that live staging to tell stories can achieve!. Hey, after seeing it, I could almost smell the salt air! Take those who never go to live shows to experience the grandure of the stage. They'll be amazed!"
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...As with Melville's original, Lookingglass' production defies easy characterization. It is as thought provoking as it is physically stimulating, as acrobatic as it is grounded, as formal as it is adventurous. It is greater than the sum of its elaborate parts and possesses technical and emotional mastery. Like its namesake, this Moby Dick does not bite so much as swallow you whole."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...There are times that theater is more than just a production, it is an experience! The Lookingglass Theatre production of "Moby Dick" is in fact, an event that should not be missed!"
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...David Catlin's newly polished, remounted production of his own faithful adaptation of Melville's classic once again displays wise and carefully dependable direction. He fills the Lookingglass Theatre with excitement, emotion and electricity. For anyone who's ever considered reading this imposing novel, Mr. Catlin's production might be just the impetus to send that reader to his library or bookstore. But for those simply searching for a deeply moving, heart-pounding story, look no further. A time-honored tale of revenge that rides the pounding waves of the seven seas, this creative and stirring production is the summer's newest must-see show."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"..."Moby Dick" may be this theater's most ambitious project, and there have been plenty of them. Aside from solving the many difficulties in dramatization set by Melville's novel, there was the question of whether there was an audience for a long play with its ventures into philosophical and religious territory, not to mention the extraordinary demands made on the stamina of the actors. It was a high risk proposition, succeeding both artistically and commercially. Not to be missed."
The Fourth Walsh - Somewhat Recommended
"...The voyage ends memorably. And the audience, at my performance, reward the cast with a standing ovation. I remained sitting. I wanted more from the beginning, from Lookingglass. I wanted the voyage to be unforgettable from Ishmael to Ishmael."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended
"...The Lookingglass Theatre provides an in-your-face experience of the classic American novel Moby Dick that surprises, shocks and intrigues audience members from start to finish."
Picture This Post - Highly Recommended
"...Catlin's adaptation distills the massive narrative by interweaving stylized interpretation with raw drama. In an overcrowded inn, Ishmael (Jamie Abelson) must share a bed with Queequeg, a tattooed harpooner from the South Seas. Played with gusto by Anthony Fleming III, Queequeg sleeps soundly as his pasty-white bedfellow has a terrifying nightmare about the dark-skinned stranger. The scene combines outrageous humor with movement worthy of a ballet. By morning, Ishmael realizes that Queequeq presents no danger and the two men sign three-year contracts to work aboard the Pequod."
