Chicago Tribune
- Recommended
"...The trick with this show, I think, is to be extremely confident about the silliness. Kyle A. Gibson's inbred imbecile feels very close to something conjured by Michael Palin, and Michael Kingston's singing disembodied head is both the best sight gag and the drollest performance of the night."
Chicago Sun Times
- Highly Recommended
"...This rarely revived musical farce features a zesty bluegrass-meets-country score by Robert Waldman and a slap-happy, vaudeville-meets-melodrama story whose book and lyrics by Alfred Uhry (of "Driving Miss Daisy" fame) nod as much to Mark Twain as to Eudora Welty, the great Southern writer whose novella inspired the show."
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...As Paul S. Holmquist's cunning staging for Griffin Theatre demonstrates, Alfred Uhry and Robert Waldman's musical is perfect for small, flexible, energetic ensembles, and its aesthetic--Once Upon a Mattress by way of Hee-Haw--offers crowd-pleasing, so-silly-it's-smart humor. A bandit falls in love with a Mississippi planter's nubile daughter, and must thwart an evil stepmother and a duo of fellow thieves (well, one thief and one talking head in a box) to win her."
Windy City Times
- Somewhat Recommended
"...What tickled urbane New Yorkers in the mid-1970s, however, is not the same as what thrilled fans of Appalachian gothic yarns in the early 1940s, or, for that matter, what appeals to midwestern audiences in 2009. And so even under the capable direction of Paul S. Holmquist, this Griffin Theatre production never quite decides whether it wants to be a reinvention of classical themes or a giddy Hee Haw spoof. Uhry and Waldman seem to have been likewise ambivalent, juxtaposing speeches steeped in homespun poetry with song lyrics flaunting decidedly modern idioms."
Chicago Free Press
- Somewhat Recommended
"...A two-time Broadway sensation, Alfred Uhry’s 1975 one-act adaptation with a country-cute score by Robert Waldman just needs a hot bluegrass band and enough enthusiasm to take off. Well, it also needs a certain trust in the tale being told. That’s what’s sadly lacking in Paul S. Holmquist’s broad, loud and less than unconvincing revival. The square dances are fun, the downhome delights generous, but the portrayals succumb to dumbed-down “Hee Haw” and “Gomer Pyle” stereotypes."
Centerstage
- Highly Recommended
"...Tired of those rehashed movie-based musicals and overly produced jukebox diversions? Then how about a good ol' boy southern folk tale, loosely adapted from a Eudora Welty novella, and bursting with enough frenetic energy and bluegrass/country & western music to make you want to jump up and dance? This buoyant, bawdy corn pone delight almost leaps off the tiny Theatre Building stage and right into your lap."
Time Out Chicago
- Somewhat Recommended
"...repetitious subplots overwhelm the primary story of Jamie and his love Rosamund. Holmquist’s muddy production doesn’t help. Too young for the title role, Cameron Brune displays intrinsic (if underdeveloped) stage charisma, but his vocal strain is palpable; still, he’s the only soloist who’s not entirely drowned out by the onstage band. The supporting players are mostly at sea, and the absence of a credited choreographer is felt all too keenly in shapeless dance sequences. This Bridegroom seems unlikely to satisfy audiences of any age."
ChicagoCritic
- Recommended
"...While I enjoyed the energy and cute tone of this farce, the show wears out its welcome as it is about 20 minutes too long. The terrific harmonies using the entire cast was effective. Several singers were difficult to hear making the production uneven. On the whole, The Robber Bridegroom is a cute, tunefully wacky comedy that satisfies. Michael Pacas, Cameron Brune and Michael Kingston anchored the show."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Highly Recommended
"...They say that laughter is good for what ails you. In our lives today, with all that is going on, we all need some laughter and right now The Griffin Theatre Company's musical "The Robber Bridegroom" is just what the doctor ordered. This is an inane and somewhat insane musical that is a sheer hoot. An Appalachian fairy tale based on the novella by Eudora Welty, which had its start in our area (at Ravinia back in 1975), "Robber" is just an hour and forty five minutes of fun that will take your mind off anything that might be bothering you."
