Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...Ferguson directs with copious amounts of imagination and creativity, but the show also has too much stuff and too many needlessly complex transitions. You just want it to settle down and evoke more of the atmospheric ambience of Dublin life."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...Playwright Terrence McNally, composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens ably managed to make a musical adaptation of E.L. Doctorow’s epic (and unwieldy) novel Ragtime, and the creative team nearly succeeds here."
Daily Herald - Recommended
"...Directed by Scott Ferguson, with music direction by Robert Ollis (who also conducts a tight, five-member pit band), Bailiwick's revival boasts a likable ensemble that appear to be every inch the working class Dubliners."
SouthtownStar - Recommended
"...The bittersweet sound of an Irish flute, lilting Irish accents and eccentric, sentimental characters set the stage for "A Man of No Importance" in a charming revival at Bailiwick Repertory in Chicago."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...The Dublin of Scott Ferguson's production for Bailiwick is sentimentalized but not unbearably so: though the performances are colorful and hearty, they are reined in enough to avoid the cloying caricature of the Irish as backward buffoons."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...Musical Director Robert Ollis and his four-member orchestra wring every bit of ethnic poignancy from melodies brimming with vigor while sparkling with romantic delicacy. ( Don't be ashamed to cry at Rus Rainear's sweet, but never maudlin, elegy to marital affections. ) Scott Ferguson directs a first-rate cast for this Bailiwick Repertory production, led by Kevin D. Mayes as the would-be Aesthete, with full-bodied support forthcoming from Nancy Kolton as his devout sister and Chuck Sisson as his dogmatic nemesis."
Chicago Free Press - Highly Recommended
"...Thanks to director Scott Ferguson, Kevin D. Mayes’ everyman Alfie turns every moment to warmth and truth. Mayes’ lovelorn lad stands for the millions of gay dreamers who nurtured make-believe when life denied them love. (The musical, however, makes a very practical case that friendship and theater are splendid consolations.) Mayes’ ardent ballad “Love Who You Love” is right up there with “I Am Who I Am.” "
EpochTimes - Recommended
"...Directed by Scott Ferguson with musical direction by Robert Ollis and Choreography by Marla Lampert, this is a fun filled two plus hours filled with some very comic moments and some lovely ( although not very memorable) music. Charles Calvert has designed a workable set where just the movement of a door and or bench can change the scene and although it is simple, it is very effective in moving the story along."
Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...Ferguson does what he can to redeem the material, though he’s hampered by less-than-perfect casting in the ensemble roles. The leads, however, are quite strong; Mayes sells even such ridiculous moments as Alfie’s Single White Female transformation into Wilde himself. Lanning, meanwhile, proves yet again he’s got leading-man chops that deserve exposure on a larger stage."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...A Man of No Importance is excellent musical theatre with a heartfelt, passionate book (by Terrence McNally). With excellent blocking, cute movement (choreographed by Marla Lampert) under the tight flowing and nicely paced direction by Scott Ferguson, Bailiwick’s A Man of No Importance is one of the finest produced non-Equity musical seen on a Chicago stage in ages. I had a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day with a charming Irish musical. This show will lift your spirits."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended
"...The strong singers definitely complimented the music, especially Lily Byrne (Nancy Kolton) and Mrs. Curtain (Naomi Landman) whose voices stood out as the strongest. They were fully capable of hitting the high notes that they were given to execute beautifully. Alfie and Robbie Fay (Ryan Lanning) also had pleasant vocals and challenges within the score that were not only met but expressed in a tender and expressive way. This charming play has a lot of good qualities and a moral to the story that leaves you feeling optimistic."
