Chicago Reader
- Somewhat Recommended
"...With such a cast of iconic characters, Saltzman's sometimes witty script would pose a daunting challenge to the finest actors; the well-meaning performers in director John Nasca's awkward Chicago premiere for MadKap Productions are in way over their heads, and the cheap set and rudimentary lighting only add to the production's general amateurishness."
Windy City Times
- Recommended
"...MadKap Productions likewise resists the temptation to play this material as flat-out farce, instead adopting, under John Nasca's direction, a light touch not unlike the movies of the period under scrutiny. Bill Chamberlain and Anita Kallen anchor the sturdy ensemble in the roles of Mr. and Mrs. Shaw, while Cat Hermes lends a rare poignancy to her portrayal of the unappreciated Davies—all adding up to plenty of nostalgic insider fun for those recalling when Hollywood was a workplace instead of a fantasyland."
Centerstage
- Recommended
"...George Bernard Shaw wrote delightfully witty comedies about matters of great weight and substance. Saltzman’s play certainly isn’t very substantial or weighty but one out of two isn’t bad."
Gapers Block
- Recommended
"...The Greenhouse Theater's small studio has a cramped performing space. Slide projections are used to define scene changes, but the play and its subject matter really deserve a more lavish production. The only real Hollywood touch is the blonde Marion Davies strutting around in her bustier and high heels for most of the play."
Stage and Cinema
- Recommended
"...But Saltzman's glorified gossip will be entertainment enough for Shavian devotes. The eight-member ensemble's cloning of celebrities comes close to a merry mark. It's enough to believe that it could have happened this way to make you prize the play for its parts."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Recommended
"...With a culture mad for period pieces from Mad Men to Downton Abbey, and a time of year heading into the Oscars, this historical fiction look at early Hollywood is a delightful escape from our internet age. It’s an evening that shows “the more things change the more we stay the same”: Nobel laureates now scramble to award film rights in contrast to Shaw’s reticence. Hearst has been replaced by multinational corporations that muscle through pet projects. And Hollywood remains a world where publicists manipulate talent towards success (and Oscar Gold). Apparently even Shaw himself displayed his golden boy proudly!"
Around The Town Chicago
- Recommended
"...Directed by John Nasca on a set designed by Robert E. Estrin that has more of a walled in appearance leaving the actual play areas sparce, we are asked to see this as the glitz of Hollywood, but with a new and young theater company, expenses and costs are small and therefore the glitz of Hollywood, becomes almost a bare stage with a number of chairs and some projections on the back walls."
Chicago Theatre Review
- Recommended
"...Mark Saltzman’s cat-and-mouse comedy of manners gives audiences a taste of what might have happened during that 1933 luncheon meeting, featuring some of the biggest celebrities of that day. Filled with humor and insight into the power and politics found during Hollywood’s Golden Era, this is an entertaining little play that will provide some welcome warmth to Chicago’s winter nights."
