Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...One of the many fine things about Fisher's work here is that she deftly captures that side of Didion — that angularity, intellectualism, dignity, pride. Neither Fisher nor Newell make the mistake of trying too hard to get us to like Didion, clearly understanding that the ambivalence and complexity of her personality is precisely what commands our respect."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Court Theatre's Chicago premiere of "The Year of Magical Thinking" is nothing short of hypnotic. And Mary Beth Fisher, under the meticulous direction of Charles Newell, gives one of those piercingly brilliant solo performances that is so gorgeously nuanced and finely chiseled that it instantly engraves itself on your memory. She is sublime."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Didion's self-absorption permeates the theatrical adaptation, a problem the usually engrossing Mary Beth Fisher can't overcome. Under Charles Newell's overly brisk direction, Fisher is uncharacteristically chilly and remote. A thousand slick light cues make the story even less human."
Centerstage - Highly Recommended
"...Both director Charles Newell and Chicago actor Mary Beth Fisher are up to the myriad challenges presented by this deceptively simple show. Newell beautifully employs costume, set and music, none of which detract from the script's spare elegance. Rather, like salt, each theatrical element helps to tease out the full flavor of Didion's evocative words."
Chicago Stage Review - Highly Recommended
"...It is impossible to discern what of this subtlety comes from Fisher’s intimacy with the text and the character, and what comes from the guiding hand of Charles Newell. Their collaboration in presenting this understated deconstruction of self has a lingering effect, revealing the nature and depth of this grief more and more in the hours and days after one sees this performance."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...
The play shares the book’s rigorous, transcendent intensity. It also shares its author’s unmistakable diction and rhythms. So when Fisher’s performance hews to a conversational tone, it’s dazzling: suspenseful, precise, suffused with terribly won wisdom."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"... The power of this theatrical piece lies in the subdued message on overcoming self-pity and grief. We all will face these issues and Didion and Fisher offer clues on how to dignify our reaction to loss. This is a moving theatrical experience about an important subject that we often ignore. Mary Beth Fisher is terrific."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...Ms. Didion's 95 minute study of her actions and reactions is a wondrous story and one that can be used to help one deal with their own personal loss. In her story, it took a year (a magical year, in her words) to come to terms with what had transpired with the loss of her husband John Gregory Dunne and what followed for her during this period of her life."
Chicago Theater Beat - Highly Recommended
"...Towards the end of the show, Fisher recalls a vacation in Hawaii with her husband and daughter. Rather than attempting to escape as she has the past recollections, she sits at the downstage edge of the stage and dips her foot into the darkness. The small gesture is a huge step for the character, and by finally venturing into the unknown – the uncontrollable – Didion can finally live outside the shadow of death."