Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"..."Outside Mullingar" is not a major Shanley work. But it is a very enjoyable piece of theater about the moment in life when you figure out you have maybe one chance left to snag the lover who might make you happy, and there is no time left for anything coy. The challenge in this play, as in life, is that desperation rarely makes you more attractive in the eyes of a potential mate. And as a woman, Rosemary must also co-opt the romantic tricks of what, in rural Ireland, is seen as the province of a man. Plus, she is literally the woman from the farm next door: "We live," she says, in exasperation at her situation, "on top of each other.""
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Directed to perfection by BJ Jones, and performed by a sublime cast of four capable of catching all the musicality and playful rhythms of Shanley's writing, the play is beguiling. Shanley (best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Doubt" and his beloved screenplay for the film "Moonstruck") has based the story on the lives of his own uncle and cousin, who worked a sheep and cattle farm outside Killucan, Ireland, and experienced the boom-and-bust cycle of that country in recent decades. But clearly he has embroidered it all with his characteristic sense of the stubbornness and whimsy that can mark human behavior, and the result is priceless."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...For this Northlight production director BJ Jones has enlisted A-list performers who know how to bring the best out of the script; Kate Fry in particular shines as that trademark Shanley character, the strong but scarred woman emotionally entangled with a weak, distant man who's afraid to grow up, here ably played by Mark Montgomery."
Windy City Times - Recommended
"...Director BJ Jones has assembled a quartet of North Shore favorites-Kate Fry, Mark Montgomery, Annabel Armour and William J. Norris-to play ethnic archetypes modeled on Brian Friel and Sean O'Casey, surrounded by Kevin Depinet's rustic scenery. Audiences asking nothing more of an evening than it not task them with stressful controversy or jarring revelations ( and who don't listen too closely to the lyrics in Andrew Hansen's likewise nostalgia-infused incidental score ) will leave satisfied. Why else do you think old tales continue to be resurrected?"
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Shanley’s whimsical one-act trades in shades of grief, for both the losses of what we’ve had and the frustrations of what’s remained out of reach. Rosemary and Anthony each find closure with their remaining parent, but Rosemary takes a stand against ingrained ridiculousness to demand what’s hers and what just makes sense. “I’ve been older than all of ye since I was born,” she proclaims to the assembled, squabbling foursome, and Fry makes you believe it."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...Shanley says he wrote this play to celebrate life at sixty. Though the main characters are younger than that, I still think this is a play from an older person's perspective, and will prove more enjoyable to Shanley's contemporaries. Still, it's an excellent production which transported the audience I was with to a state of tranquility. Shanley's language is far from subtle; the characters eventually get around to expressing their feelings for love and the world in grand terms. I detect a wistfulness from playwright that they could not have done this sooner, or compressed their feelings until they came out so strongly. The play's message is ultimately hopeful: people can find their contentment with life even when they're over forty. And for some people, it will take that long."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Northlight Theatre’s new production of “Outside Mullingar” is set in Ireland, which means the characters are argumentative, contrary, negative in outlook, and they can hold a grudge for a lifetime. “Outside Mullingar” is a poignant love story about two lonely people who find each other in spite of themselves. I give it 4 Spotlights."
Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended
"...John Patrick Shanley’s autobiographical play is a charming, bittersweet slice of life. Set in rural Ireland, this little fable about loneliness and love, family and friends makes a rewarding evening filled with warmth and hope. Despite the play’s ever-falling Irish rain, this sweet little story will bring a ray of welcome sunshine to Chicago theatergoers."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...“Outside Mullingar” is a small play in size and length, written with obvious affection by the playwright, and the Northlight ensemble has responded with a glowing production. Kate Fry has been my favorite Chicagoland actress for years and we don’t see enough of her on area stages. Her partnership with Montgomery in that glorious final scene at the Northlight will stick in my memory for a long time."
