Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...Cromer calibrates "Our Town" with clear-eyed intelligence. You see the beauties of small-town America and its limitations, laid out before you as directly and powerfully as the Chicago theater can muster."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...David Cromer has brought a true touch of genius to the Hypocrites' new production of "Our Town," which he has directed, and also stars in (with a wicked brilliance) as the Stage Manager. And in the black box environment of Chopin Theatre's basement -- with no decor but two sets of worn kitchen tables and chairs (until a profound and stunning moment of reversal in the play's third act) -- he has created a bond between the audience and his perambulating actors with such (seeming) effortlessness that they all become residents of the very average New Hampshire town of Grover's Corners without even knowing it."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...David Cromer's production for the Hypocrites manages to strip the play of the Norman Rockwell sheen it has acquired over the years without succumbing to the hip but fatal temptation of applying irony or cynicism. The modern-dress staging is as simple as Wilder wanted it, the acting guileless and tender. Particularly fine is Jennifer Grace, whose Emily seems by turns sure of her place in the world and utterly lost."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...There's no scenery, props or costumes of note. The lights don't come down on the audience until the final act. The result is that the audience becomes part of Grover Corners, living, dying and being buried right alongside generations of townsfolk. The cast is remarkable, but in addition to Cromer, exceptional heartbreak comes from Jonathan Mastro who provides both original music and a tragic chorus in the character of a gifted artist unable to outrun his own demons."
Chicago Free Press - Somewhat Recommended
"...the play really is a gem, so it’s always a treat to find an open-eyed production like this one from the Hypocrites, currently running in the basement at the Chopin Theatre. Helmed by David Cromer, who also takes the key role of the omniscient Stage Manager, this particular “Town” clearly conveys the depth of Wilder’s wonderful script. Unfortunately, the awkward underground venue, combined with a staging that bisects the audience, often hampers Cromer’s vision. (If you attend, arrive early or you’ll get stuck seated behind a pillar.)"
Centerstage - Highly Recommended
"...A bold—and, I think, brilliant—directorial choice late in the third act should keep audiences arguing long after the lights come up. And as Emily, Jennifer Grace brings an unsettling energy to her go-for-broke closing monologue. For that moment, Grace achieves what every successful revisit to a classic should: She makes the familiar strange again. And that, this production seems to suggest, is what "Our Town" is all about."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...Director Cromer—who also deftly plays the empathetic/dispassionate narrator—teases out muted, wistful notes, bringing things closer to the gently spectral style Wilder arguably intended than what you may’ve been conditioned to expect from this “nostalgic” chestnut."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...David Cromer exudes the deep themes that Wilder has penned through his richly imaginative staging and the strong truthful performances of his players. This is a subtly powerful drama that gets us to understand that life is lived in the precious little moments. We appreciate life and those around us more after seeing Our Town. Take the family to see this wonderful time capsule."
