Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...This show is a tricky, tricky beast. One can bill it as a madcap musical, and silliness is the order of the day — with a looney-tunes plot involving Capt. Jeffrey T. Spaulding, a Texas oilman, several Manhattan creatures of the Kaufman gestalt and various attempts to do the switcheroo with an oil painting. But contemporary audiences often erroneously think this vintage show was a laugh-a-second gag fest in the Mel Brooks tradition."
Chicago Sun Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...To borrow a locution from Groucho: The show has its moments ... but it also has its hours. And its funny, charming, zany bits (which consumed just 97 brilliant, breathless minutes of film time) are now spread out over a solid 2 1/2 hours of busy but too frequently flat and padded stage time. In fact, the whole thing feels as if adapter-director Henry Wishcamper carefully rehearsed each individual scene, but lost track of the show's overall pacing and momentum. So instead of generating accelerating chaos there is a sense of escalating tedium."
Daily Herald - Highly Recommended
"...The imitations, alone, could carry the show. Brody and Brennan, respectively, capture the essence of Chico and Harpo. And Slotnick's Groucho is nothing short of astonishing. What a pleasure it is to watch these three, plus Zeppo, recreate classic Marx Brothers routines."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...If you treasure the Marx Brothers, you're gonna treasure Animal Crackers. Guided by director Henry Wishcamper, the Goodman Theatre re-creates the Marx Brothers as a showbiz act (or phenomenon, rather) and also a period musical comedy, nailing them both."
Chicago Free Press - Highly Recommended
"...The wonders are the marvelous and surprisingly elaborate tap-dancing production numbers that erupt from set designer Robin Vest’s Long Island pleasure palace. “Watching the Clouds Roll By” is Ziegfeld-flamboyant, while the finale spoofs Versailles as only the Marx Brothers could subvert it. Plus these borrowed or original melodies and rousers like “Three Little Words,” “Everyone Says I Love You,” “Hello, I Must Be Going,” “Hooray for Captain Spaulding” and “Long Island Low Down” really are better than the crap we put up with today."
Copley News Service - Somewhat Recommended
"...Probably “Animal Crackers” should rest in peace, the eternal property of the original Marx Brothers. As a musical, it has too many romantic ballads and the vaudeville prologues to each act just consume time. All in all, an intriguing concept that doesn’t come off."
Talkin Broadway - Highly Recommended
"...A night at the Goodman, like a night at the opera, is usually an "event" and almost always an opportunity to see stimulating theater. You don't necessarily think of it as a rollicking good time, but it is now with this production. It may be getting tiring to hear Chicago theatre professionals and fans boasting about the next show we may send out to New York, but for the second or third time in this short season, in Animal Crackers we have another one worthy of the move."
Centerstage - Recommended
"...Though there are significantly more gag lines, all the elements of the beloved classic are in place with breathtaking costumes by Jenny Mannis."
Chicagoist - Highly Recommended
"...We realize we’ve written a lot of “but” reviews lately. As in “it’s good, but…” Although it probably wouldn’t be very interesting to read, we really do wish we could tell you everything we see is good - we love theatre, and we want you to love theatre too. So we’re both relieved and slightly giddy to be able to say to you all: The Goodman Theatre’s Animal Crackers is damn good theatre."
Edge - Highly Recommended
"...The production, currently on stage at the Goodman Theatre, is everything that a adaptation should be. First, it holds extraordinarily true to the original creation’s script, as Wishcamper has pulled from previously overlooked subtleties to the work’s original edit. Second, the original’s ante has been impressively upped, as the cast originally played by dozens has been condensed down to a cast of only nine, all of whom play multiple characters. The end result is a relentless circus of hilarious wordplay and physical comedy from some of the most talented comic actors in the business."
Chicago Stage Review - Highly Recommended
"...This production is no campy look back. The cast has been streamlined to only nine actors playing all the parts among them. Quick changes, and missed changes to humorous effect, have been added to the dizzying mayhem. Everyone is running around constantly — walking out as one character, walking in as another. Yet every character is distinct, and the forward motion of the story is always clear. Adapter/Director Henry Wishcamper has given Chicago a living, breathing, in-this-moment comedy on a grand scale. Animal Crackers at the Goodman Theatre is, simply put, the finest production of musical comedy that I have ever seen."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...The entire ensemble is terrific and vital; Joey Slotnick disappears entirely into his Groucho character, a calm and quick-on-his-feet commander of the insanity, while Molly Brennan perfectly captures Harpo’s bizarre presence and Ora Jones is spot-on in the Margaret Dumont role. Musical director Doug Peck and his six-piece band take center stage, while choreographer John Carrafa and costume designer Jenny Mannis contribute inventive work. The production stumbles a bit near the end, when Wishcamper fails to clearly delineate the problematic costume-ball pageant, but for the most part Crackers is pure pleasure: Like Harpo, it’s always got another ace up its sleeve."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...I can’t think of another way to introduce young people to the wacky world of the Marx Brothers–then for them to see Animal Crackers at the Goodman Theatre. It wouldn’t hurt if you watch Animal Crackers on Netflix before you see the Goodman’s live production. Actually, you’ll enjoy it better with some reference to the film and the wild antics of the Marx brothers. Animal Crackers is a major achievement for the Goodman Theatre. This production needs to go to Broadway."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...Well, that is what The Goodman Theatre is offering us on its Albert Stage. A nine member cast taking on all the roles and ensemble in this inane, highly energetic song and dance musical filled with sub-plots, mystery, and some of the absolute best actors/singers/dancers to hit a Chicago stage. Many of these actors take on multiple roles and have some of the quickest costume changes I have ever seen."
Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended
"...It’s pretty rare that a stage production can be described as both “brilliant” and “stupid.” Theatre quite often views itself as an intellectual pursuit (or at least it would like to), leaving the silly, ridiculous, and trivial to blockbuster movies. The Goodman’s mounting of the Marx Brother’s classic musical Animal Crackers, though, seems to be going for that idiocy much of today’s theatre is afraid to touch. It succeeds beautifully. With an intensely committed cast and under the energized direction of Henry Wishcamper, Animal Crackers is remarkably, refreshingly stupid."
