Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...Sure, the source material has dark themes -- does it ever -- but this sudden turn truly feels strange, and it seems to work against so much of where the emphasis lands in the first act. You simply can't track the adventure storytelling, so, lacking tension and heart, Act Two mostly dissolves into a series of alienating tableaux."
Chicago Sun Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...Now the company has turned its creative eye to J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. The story of the boy who refuses to grow up is directed with flourishes of darkness and light by Lookingglass newcomer Amanda Dehnert. The story is familiar to nearly everyone, and Dehnert tries hard to capture new dimensions of the exciting dreamlike nature of childhood, contrasting that with the stark realities of adulthood."
Chicago Reader - Recommended
"...Lookingglass Theatre's new production takes more liberties with Barrie's text than any of those, but it remains faithful to the spirit of the original, celebrating athleticism and joyous make-believe while exploring Barrie's fixation on childhood and death."
Examiner - Somewhat Recommended
"...One would expect that director Amanda Dehnert and her movement choreographer Matt Hawkins would have come up with something singularly magical when Peter sends the Darling children up to the stars. But the flying here is strangely pedestrian. As the Darlings make circles above the stage, rigging apparatus in full view, the visual is lovely but hardly spectacular. Of course spectacle is hardly a prerequisite for good storytelling (in fact, it often muddies good storytelling.). But one expects more – more intricacy, more dare-deviltry, more gasp-inducing swoops - from a Lookingglass staging of Peter Pan. But the magic never arrives. Peter Pan is ordinary."
Windy City Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...It is these cutesy adults-as-kids touches like this that will either endear the show with audiences, or infuriate them. Peter Pan traditionalists will particularly grumble at Dehnert's changes for the Indian Tiger Lily. Erika Ratcliff plays the now tribe-less warrior as a bad-ass bully fighting little girl (which goes against one of Barrie's points that only boys fall out of their cribs and end up in Neverland)."
Copley News Service - Recommended
"...Adapter and guest director Amanda Dehnert takes a dark view of the story about the boy who would not grow up. Forget the Disneyfication of the J. M. Barry play. At the Lookingglass, Peter is a self absorbed and slightly cynical lad. He’s also played by a young man (Ryan Nunn), rejecting the traditional casting of a female (often a very mature female) in the title role."
Chicago Stage Review - Recommended
"...Director Amanda Dehnert creates a singular wild ride that has plenty of remarkable moments and intriguing components but ultimately the creative chaos of the adaptation leaves us emotionally underwhelmed with Peter’s paradox of being both innocent and heartless. It is a riveting visceral vision that lacks the follow through required to deliver a complete and lingering dramatic experience. Still, the grand spectacle is well worth a look."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...The adaptation is mostly faithful to Barrie, though Dehnert cuts the Indians and crafts a new backstory for Molly Brennan’s Smee. There’s some confusion about the setting; the modern vernacular and references don’t jive with the Darlings’ place-and-period-specific family situation. Dehnert’s large cast, though, finds the heart of Barrie’s intent. Nunn brings a cocky, bullheaded charm to the boy who refuses to grow up, embodying Barrie’s cutting description of children: “young and innocent and heartless.”"
ChicagoCritic - Somewhat Recommended
"...I don’t think this production has found what it is trying to do since it isn’t scary enough nor child-like enough not does it fully develop its child-centered premise. The flying, the exotic staging and the unpredictable action carries the show. I’m not sure who the audience is for this Peter Pan? Children – no; adults who have never been to a Lookingglass Theatre show – yes. There is enough creative staging and nice ensemble work to justify seeing this Peter Pan."
Around The Town Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...As far as productions go, this is as I stated earlier, a very energetic cast with the very bubbly Ryan Nunn as Peter. He is as athletic as they come as he flys, leaps and fights his way to save Wendy ( Kay Kron)and her bothers, John ( Jamie Abelson) and little Michael ( the adorable Alex Weisman, who shows us some real versatility in this show) from the evil Captain Hook ( marvelously played by Thomas J. Cox). The lost boys- Kelley Abell,Kareem Bandealy, Matt Holzfeind and Nate Trinrud all do splendid jobs of earning our love despite the script itself. Royer Bockus makes a delightful Nana, their nursemaid Saint Bernard ( who in this version speaks instead of barking) and Mr. and Mrs Darling are played by Raymond Fox and Amy J. Carle ( who also take on many other roles). Tinker Bell , the fairy is played by Aislinn Mulligan. The other cast members are Ericka Ratcliff as Lily ( Tiger Lilly in the original),Sarah Fornace as Jane ( Wendy’s daughter when she grows up who takes the adventures with Peter to the next level) and Adeoye as the Clown and others."
Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended
"...Deliberately or unintentionally, the cast could not be more endearing. Kay Kron’s radiant Wendy shows everything she feels with all the naked honesty of open-hearted children. Jamie Abelson’s no-nonsense John recalls his father (a respectable Raymond Fox), while Alex Weisman’s silly Michael seems little more mature than this nursemaid Nana (Royer Bockus, speaking rather than barking). Thomas J. Cox’s Hook is evil incarnate, a caricature built from memories of the meanest adults the children ever met. Aislinn Mulligan’s tomboyish Tinkerbell is mute but memorable as she evolves from fairy petulance to something like battlefield heroism. Above all, Nunn’s valiant, resourceful and incorrigible Peter sets the standard for this young and able cast. We don’t want him to grow up anymore than Barrie did."
