Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...It's not that "Weekend" is a great play. It tanked on Broadway in 1968 and its contrivances appear starker today. But it is a revealing and unashamedly juicy show that makes you acutely aware of the rapidly disappearing pleasures of the well-made, smart-night-out comedy that keeps you engrossed, entertained and stimulated."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Vidal's winking tale of presidential election year maneuvering was written 40 years ago, but it has the red-hot immediacy of a play penned just in time for this year's conventions. And it suggests everything old is new again when it comes to the donkeys and elephants, and the intersection of sex, race, money and politics."
Daily Herald - Somewhat Recommended
"...Despite Kiely's able direction and a top-notch cast that includes the always watchable Janet Ulrich Brooks, whose comic turn as a bigoted Washington, D.C., maven generates some of the production's biggest laughs, 'Weekend' remains essentially a B-side to Vidal's superior 1960 hit 'The Best Man.'"
Chicago Reader - Recommended
"...Even with its flaws, the play justifies TimeLine Theatre’s decision to mount its Chicago premiere. Though it’s largely a time capsule of American politics four decades past, it’s interesting for its handling of some surprisingly timely themes in this election year and offers a vehicle for strong comic performances under the direction of Damon Kiely."
Windy City Times - Recommended
"...The ensemble is powered by veteran Terry Hamilton's firmly-centered but robust MacGruder, Penny Slusher's warm but cagey Mrs. MacGruder and Janet Ulrich Brooks's scene-stealing comedy as the other Senator's wife. The remaining cast shines less brightly only because they have far less to do, although beautiful Juliet Hart, as MacGruder's executive assistant/lover, conveys a great deal beyond her limited words."
Chicago Free Press - Somewhat Recommended
"...Weekend” doesn’t know if it’s a political satire, a soap opera or a sitcom. Worse, with its inconsistent characters and clumsy tone changes, it yearns to be serious and silly. It ends up a botched effort, far less vital or textured than Vidal’s superb Washington novels and, oddly, with only one brief allusion to homosexuality. The “in-joke” ending, an asinine insult to the audience’s intelligence, is especially preposterous. It’s strictly on us."
Gay Chicago Magazine - Recommended
"...The focus of the busy drama becomes a bit muddied at times, and the chemistry between characters is often as unconvincing as a speech given by a floundering politician. Still, the witty material is delivered with enough competence and enthusiasm to relay the critical observations and leave you laughing hard. Janet Ulrich Brooks’s creation of Mrs. Andrews, an eccentrically bigoted senator’s wife, is well worth the price of admission. Her characterization is astoundingly funny, utilizing incredible non-verbal humor as well as delivering her irreverent dialogue with hysterical comic timing."
Copley News Service - Highly Recommended
"...Political plays don’t figure very large in modern American drama. Political theater has largely been the reserve of satirical revue companies like Second City. But there have been a few successful political plays by American dramatists, notably Gore Vidal’s “The Best Man.” Vidal also wrote another political play, called “Weekend,” that had a brief three-week run on Broadway in 1968. In recognition of this election year, the TimeLine Theatre is reviving “Weekend” in a production so accomplished it probably makes the play seem wittier and more incisive than it really is."
Centerstage - Somewhat Recommended
"...Gore Vidal's "Weekend," now having its Chicago premiere 40 years after its unsuccessful Broadway production, is a profoundly cynical play. Set in the 1968 primary season, it features a jaundiced view of the political system, manipulative, unlikable characters, and a highly artificial and formal use of language. If the play stays funny and dramatically compelling, none of this is a flaw. Vidal's script and Damon Kiely's production at TimeLine succeed about half the time, putting "Weekend" in the "flawed but fascinating" category."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...Director Kiely’s sporting, briskly paced revival—amusingly resurrected in the town that actually helped Jack Kennedy—is not a case that the play is either an unearthed masterwork or (curiously, given its race-based plot) in synch with the current election. But it’s what political theater, and theater in general, so often fails to be: a really, really good time. As the senator, flamboyant talent Hamilton dials himself down and buttons himself up to fine effect as he leads a roundly winning ensemble."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...Director Damon Kiely has cast a terrific ensemble led by the polished Terry Hamilton as Senator MacGruder. Penny Slusher is perfect as the dotting wife while Joe Sherman does excellent work as the glibly obnoxious son. Janet Ulrich Brooks steals several scenes as the wacky bigot. The regal set (by Keith Pitts) depicts the affluent Republican patrician. This seldom produced political gem is razor sharp political wit that contains rich humor."
