Laika Dog In Space at Neo-Futurists

Chicago Tribune - Not Recommended

"...for all the faux naïf energy and poetic ideas circulating around "Laika Dog in Space" (developed and initially produced in New York, and directed here by Phil Ridarelli), the show feels awfully twee and lacking substance."

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...All the source materials have something to do with isolation, courage, faith, entrapment, science, and science fiction. For 75 minutes, the performers toy with these themes without developing any of them. Although Phil Ridarelli's antic direction keeps things moving at a brisk pace, the piece lacks intellectual rigor."

Chicago Stage Review - Recommended

"...There is much to recommend here, even though Laika Dog in Space does occasionally miss the mark. Laika suffers somewhat by not really knowing what it wants to be. Sometimes it flows, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes Laika feels like a performance art quilt that the audience is asked to wrap itself in and contribute to; sometimes Laika is a collection viewed from behind glass. Still, writers/performers Rob Neill, Eevin Hartsough, and Jill Beckman and Composer/Performer Carl Riehl have created a show that is conversational and thought-provoking. Under the careful, and non-threatening, direction of Phil Ridarelli, Laika Dog in Space ultimately succeeds — a jumble, but a pleasure."

Time Out Chicago - Recommended

"... A meaningful meditation on connection can be discerned in the merry jumble. Forays into audience-participation games seem more superfluous than unifying, but ultimately the questions about interrelationship that are raised by the idea of a mutt navigating the cosmos are allowed to resonate—especially when the borscht is served to the audience after the show."

Chicago Theater Beat - Somewhat Recommended

"...The production tries to create a sense of community within the room, whether it is through making borsch that the audience can all eat after the show or by pulling audience members on stage to drink Tang upside down, but these elements fail to enlighten the deeper message of the play. Despite being well-performed, the script needs a stronger focus and the technical aspects need to be cleaned up if Laika: Dog In Space hopes to truly take off."