Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...The big asset of this commercial production is a cast of very fine and typically unfussy Chicago actors. Rich performances abound, especially from Ron Rains and Cassandra Bissell as the determined couple made famous by Wayne and O’Hara. There’s also colorful work from Aaron Christensen as Captain Archie Macdonald and Bret Tuomi as Red Will O’Danaher, familiar to “Quiet Man” fans as Big Liam O’Grady. Karen Woditsch also makes a strong-willed Joan Hyland."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...Adapted here by Frank Mahon and Milissa Pacelli, directed with a fine sense of shifting tones by Susan Felder and performed by a large, first-rate cast that captures the time, place, manners and accents of the characters with impressive authenticity, "The Quiet Man Tales" could easily be a miniseries. But the adapters have telescoped a slew of political and romantic machinations into a 2 1/2-hour running time (a few trims might be in order), and there is great pleasure to be had in following the destinies of these complex, often conflicted characters."
Daily Herald - Recommended
"...A heartwarming portrait of 1920s rural Ireland, "The Quiet Man Tales" emerges as a series of interwoven vignettes centered around the strong-willed and (mostly) unfailingly decent inhabitants of a small, County Kerry burg. It's a quaint, if not totally cohesive show, underscored by Irish music (arrive early for a preshow sampling) and punctuated by gentle humor (the matchmaking and baby-naming scenes involving likable locals led by Roselle's own Robert Allan Smith are a hoot)."
Chicago Reader - Recommended
"...the domestic focus of the second act gives the talented cast a strong narrative to sink their teeth into, and if you can overlook the incessant retrograde gender politics--men beating each other up to prove their courage to suspicious women--Walsh's moving tale of hearts rent asunder and reunited will repay your patience."
Examiner - Somewhat Recommended
"...Adapting their drama from Maurice Walsh’s “The Green Rushes,” Frank Mahon and Milissa Pacelli offer both solid storytelling and a moving meditation on the ability of common decency to trump bullying bravado. Their adaptation isn’t perfect - Quiet Man Tales is a bit overstuffed, and the quick cuts between plots and subplots often come at the expense of cohesion and full clarity. There’s numerous tales within Tales, and they sometimes feel jammed together rather than organically linked."
Chicago Free Press - Somewhat Recommended
"...Fortunately, nothing’s missing in or from Susan Felder’s large and excellent cast, their winning work every bit as prolix as the play. It’s not the fault of their accents or acting that we need a flow chart to follow the plot and a guide book to distinguish the characters. They’re mired in a script where no scene last long enough to make you care what happens next (which with these open-ended, hit-or-miss storylines may not happen anyway). Just when you might just take a liking (or at least a feeling) to a character, they’re switched for another. By the time they return it’s too late to rekindle your dead interest."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...Emphasizing the backstage camaraderie of “enemies” of one stripe or another, Mahon and Pacelli’s adaptation is a little sketchy here and there, despite taking its time. And once or twice we wonder if some tragi-comedy should’ve been slanted more decisively. But on the whole, this wafts you straight up the Gulf Stream to an authentic, welcoming if war-weary Ireland, refreshingly unpigeonholed by either emotional coldness (on the feminine side) or grim paramilitary obligation (on the masculine). All the musically accented actors are wonderful, but Ron Rains, in a decidedly non-Duke performance as the titular man, and Bret Tuomi, as a marvelously textured O’Danaher, shine brightest."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...The Quiet Man Tales unfolds as an professionally acted work with fine brogues, strong characterizations and loads of heart. Ron Rains, Cassandra Bissell, Scott Cummins and Aaron Christensen were particularly excellent. Add another fine work to the rich tradition of Irish theatre. Fans of the film will enjoy the complete story of The Quiet Man Tales."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended
"...Many of my generation recall the wonderful move "The Quiet Man," the Academy Award winner of 1952 starring John Wayne. Smock Alley Theater Company, Mavin Productions and Pullinsi & D'Angelo Productions are now presenting a new stage adaptation based on the same stories, "Green Rushes" by Maurice Walsh. The adaptation by Frank Mahon and Milissa Pacelli is a delightful 2 1/2 hour visit to Ireland in the 1920's. We get to meet the people as they fought for their independence and see how their lives all interconnected during the years to follow."
