Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...The night wasn't a total bust. The original material by Scott Brown and Anthony King is witty and the spoof musical numbers are shrewdly composed. If you recognize the clichés of the genre, you'll have some laughs at the stirring Act One finale, the fake Gospel number, the Elvis specialty, the "I want" song and so on."
Chicago Sun Times - Not Recommended
"...Perhaps the show known as "Gutenberg! The Musical!" might provide a few chuckles as a 15-minute sketch performed as an appendix to one edition or another of "Forbidden Broadway," the popular New York-generated satirical revue. But as a two-act show performed in the confines of the Royal George Theatre's uncomfortable third-floor studio, it very quickly outlives its welcome with material (and direction by Alex Timbers) that is by turns heavy-handed, overworked, dumb and cheesy."
SouthtownStar - Not Recommended
"...Guttenberg! is a cliched presentation that tries to emulate the success of musicals that satirized musicals such as 'Urinetown' and 'Forbidden Broadway,' but it fails dreadfully."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...The room's air conditioned, the show's got a good number of laughs, and the two guys onstage project the right sort of childlike-inching-toward-pathetic charm as Bud and Doug--boundlessly enthusiastic authors of a bad musical about the inventor of the printing press. But there's something wrong when you wish the show were over at intermission."
Gay Chicago Magazine - Highly Recommended
"...Playwrights Scott Brown and Antony King have created a deceptively complex theatrical extravaganza in the guise of this simple concept. Through the crazy dialogue and charmingly silly songs, they capture the bright-eyed naiveté of two exceptionally endearing and intensely enthusiastic dorks. There is something voyeuristically fascinating about seeing someone take his or her weirdness so seriously. In addition to the eccentric character study, “Gutenberg!” provides the perfect tongue-in-cheek criticism of formulaic Broadway musical product."
EpochTimes - Somewhat Recommended
"... This 1 hour forty-five minute two man musical (with piano/musical direction by T.O. Sterrett) has some very funny moments and some songs that are Broadway musical quality as they do what is termed a "backers reading" of their new musical detailing the life of Johann Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press. While the concept is clever and the two actors play over 30 roles in this play-within-a-play, it doesn't appear to be a show for the mass audience."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...It’s sometimes hard to know what you’re laughing at in Gutenberg! The Musical!, even though the laughs are abundant in this two-man, two-act, two-joke tuner now playing in the cabaret space of the Royal George. The two men are excellent."
ChicagoCritic - Somewhat Recommended
"...For me, this play ends up being a combination of two great artistic American moments, Mel Brooks’ “The Producers” and “History of the World Part 1”. Why isn’t “Gutenberg! The Musical!” as successful as these comedic masterpieces? Primarily, it is due to a concept which could not sustain itself for more than an hour on stage."
