Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...But really, it's the women who make an impact with their singing and dancing chops. (They also inhabit the distinct personalities of each cat with more authority.) Maggie Portman has more spunk than any show rightly deserves, and she jumps right out as the performer having the most fun here, both as the precocious cat burgler Rumpleteazer and later as one-half of the slinky "Macavity" number. Rebecca Pink (as Jennyanydots, and adorable as hell) and Hillary Patingre (as Jellylorum) also make strong impressions."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Didier, who has worked on previous hits at this theater, including “Evita” and “Chess,” knows how to make that sandbox feel like an opera house. And with “Cats,” she has found a way to herd her feline charges (all with perfect pitch and diction) into a grand theatrical family of genuine substance. She also has introduced a lovely little framing device for the show, with a young actress-dancer (Shannon Mulvey) “preparing” for the role of a cat who will keep the line going as the tattered grand-dame Grizabella (the smoky-voiced Sydney Charles) tearfully moves on to the next world."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Brenda Didier's staging sheds the bombast for a, well, domesticated approach to Andrew Lloyd Webber's much-loved, much-mocked musical furball. That has its pitfalls, but if the postage-stamp stage reveals that not all 13 cast members are equal to their choral duties, its intimacy also, for instance, keeps Sydney Charles's stark rendition of "Memory" from being the calculated tearjerker it normally is. Those who love Cats are likely to find this production transcendent; the Cats haters may consider it tolerable."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...The cast assembled by director/choreographer Brenda Didier is mostly young, with energetic flexibility befitting their ages. Rebecca Pink taps up a storm as the nocturnal Gumby, Maggie Portman lends a Kurt Weill slink to the ballad of the elusive "Macavity," while Josh Huppert's LED-clad Mr. Mistoffelees charms with exuberant pas de chats. There's more than just catfooting around, however: Matt McNabb's delicate lyric tenor invokes a beatific aura for Old Deuteronomy, Brian-Alwyn Newland's rich baritone renders the operatic romance of Pirate Growltiger a show-stopper and Sydney Charles' poignant rendition of "Memory" transforms the familiar cabaret-warble into a prayer for all mortal creatures, great and small, confronting the ends of their ninth lives."
Centerstage - Highly Recommended
"...Staged in a 60-seat space, not much larger than a litter box, this production is a textbook example of the mantra, “Less is more.” While Broadway producer Cameron Mackintosh set the feline festival in a giant junk yard featuring massive scenery and oversized props, director/choreographer Brenda Didier has chosen an attic full of boxes and a large trunk. And the usual cast of 30 or more actors has been reduced to 13 playing 20 different roles. Unbelievably it all works beautifully."
Chicago Stage Review - Highly Recommended
"...The choral work is exceptional. The staging is exciting. The cast is perfectly endearing. Theo Ubique delivers a completely enchanting evening. If you are a lover of CATS then you must experience this singularly intimate incarnation."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...
In the overture a young girl is led by an adult man to an attic and given the poems to read. This frame, while understandable for its attempt to turn Cats into something—anything—like a story, ultimately makes it harder to enjoy what Cats really is: a kind of Lewis Carrollesque feline vaudeville. Giving the cats someone to address aside from the audience just highlights our exclusion from this odd milieu (Jellicle Cats? Old Deuteronomy?). Rather than drawn into a world of cleverly recognizable fantasy, we just feel late to the party."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...I can’t rave enough about Theo Ubique and Brenda Didier’s amazingly heartfelt, richly emotionally and quite empathetic production of Cats. It boasts flawless music, deft dancing and it creates an evocative atmosphere that beckons us into the cats lair. We share the wizardry, wonders and warmth of Cats. Get to No Exit Cafe in Rogers Park to experience an astonishing theatrical event!"
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...I would never have expected Theo Ubique to evolve over the past few years into one of the best non-Equity companies in Chicago, yet that is precisely what has happened. To say this award-winning 13-year-old troupe is making the most of its humble and claustrophobic Rogers Park cabaret cafe setting is the understatement of the theatrical season. Artistic Director Fred Anzevino made the brilliant decision to hand both directing and choreographic reins to Chicago theatre veteran Brenda Didier, whose work here is nothing short of awe-inspiring."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...For a production like this to work, each piece of the puzzle has to fit perfectly. We know that Didier and Deppe ( as well as Powell) succeeded with their parts and then there are the other ingredients to make the recipe for success- Lighting ( Michael Nardulli), Costumes ( amazing work by Matt Guthier), Wigs ( extraordinary detail by Michael Buoninconto) and one of my favorites ( and most overlooked) prop design- Justin Goh, all I can say is Wow! In a Theater the size of No Exit Cafe, each detail must be perfect as the audience is inches away from the action and the magic is more difficult to create at close range. Theo Ubique knows how to create the illusions that the larger venues do, but in a much smaller space. This is a tribute to their entire staff."
Chicago Theater Beat - Highly Recommended
"...Theo Ubique has put another feather in its cap (or should I say “cat on its lap”?). Hooray for them and lucky for us to get this furry, magical and whimsical dream against the darkening winter ahead."
