Murder Ballad presented by Bailiwick Chicago at Flat Iron Arts Building

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...Artfully performed by Bailiwick's cast and a four-piece band, Juliana Nash's rock-based score uses simple chord progressions and strong beats to mesmeric effect. Julia Jordan's book is another matter, though, offering not one but two ill-conceived surprises. The first is merely cheap inasmuch as it depends entirely on undisclosed information; the other—a last-second, faux-Brechtian fuck you out of nowhere—amounts to a betrayal of both the audience and the material."

Windy City Times - Highly Recommended

"...Don't be too eager to declare your superiority regarding sordid tales of visceral justice, however. Jordan and Nash are not content to let us go home with our smug complacencies intact, instead sending us on our way pursued by a gleeful reminder that sweaty sex and brutal violence is precisely what we came seeking. "It's just entertainment-until it happens to you!," the characters taunt us. Don't say you weren't warned."

Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended

"...Bailiwick’s semi-immersive staging doesn’t help much: The funky performing space is partially ringed by cabaret tables for an attempted rock-club vibe, but the majority of the audience is crammed into traditional seating at a remove from the performers and with challenging sightlines. My friend and I were wedged between a rear wall and the stage manager’s booth, with legroom so tight that by the time we caught on that the onstage bar was serving complimentary drinks preshow, we felt too bad about having to climb back over our seat mates to get a round. That's so not rock & roll."

ChicagoCritic - Somewhat Recommended

"...I really wanted to like this work since I enjoy and respect most of the productions from Bailiwick Chicago Theater. But my dislike of pop/rock singing sure got into my way here. This rock-infused work will probably be best suited for younger theatre patrons who have an 'ear' for rock lyrics and music. I don't. This work is ambitious and nicely staged with truthful performances by Amanda Horvath and Chris Logan. I guess, I'm too much of a musical traditionalist to 'get' Murder Ballad. You may want to experience this show if you're open to rock."

Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended

"...Audiences everywhere throughout time have inexplicably found stories of murder and passion to be captivating. The irresistible draw behind examining man’s darker side, as explored in song, stories and onstage, cannot be denied. In this sung-through musical themes of love, hate, jealousy, betrayal, parental devotion and selfish, personal satisfaction are all explored with economy of time and space. Told with clarity and staged with brisk sensuality and simplicity, Bailiwick offers a feisty, fiercely beautiful production that kills softly with its songs."