Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...As is usually the case in conventional R & Js, a whinging Romeo (Gillian Humiston) is overshadowed by the bold innocence of Juliet (Ashley Fox). But Maggie Kettering's tiger-mom Lady Capulet and Eleanor Katz's grounded, sympathetic Nurse provide welcome moments of clarity."
Centerstage - Highly Recommended
"...If you’re familiar with this play, and most people are, there’s not much new here, but this show will remind you of why it’s so great in the first place."
Chicago Stage Review - Somewhat Recommended
"...The pacing of the production is so frantic that it makes us love the few quiet moments all the more. The fights are fantastic but other scenes, such as the final death of our tragic lovers, are clumsy. Director Brian LaDuca hits and misses with this unconventional interpretation of the Bard. The misses are many but the hits are more than strong enough to make this Romeo & Juliet worth your time."
Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...Still, given this suggestive casting, one expects a heightening of the transgressive love that is the play’s center. “My bounty is as boundless as the sea,” Juliet tells Romeo, a line that speaks to the excess of this play, of this impossible love. There isn’t enough in this production to suggest that excess, to speak to the madness that is passionate love (even the kisses seem perfunctory). Certainly, it isn’t easy to give new life to such a famous play, but one would hope for nothing less from this talented troupe."
ChicagoCritic - Not Recommended
"...All said, I cannot recommend seeing this production. The utter failure of direction makes it unwatchable. The actors who were good in this will be better in something else. But leave this butchery of the Bard be."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Somewhat Recommended
"...For those five people in the city who have not seen or read “Romeo and Juliet”, I will leave the ending for you. I must confess however, do not let this production be your first Shakespeare experience. It will leave a sour taste in your mouth, and possibly turn your nose against future Shakespeare projects. The problem here is not the set, nor the costumes, nor the fight choreography, which were all very impressive. The main issue was the acting. This production is one of those examples of a highly potential play but delivered extremely poorly."
Chicago Theater Beat - Somewhat Recommended
"...Fox and Humiston do pull off their final death scene together but, by the time they do, the audience has missed the heart of the story for too long. Romeo & Juliet was spawned from an era of real traditional marriage—from a time when marriages were set up like business partnerships. What did love have to do with it? Shakespeare’s audience came to see pure, unbridled love daring to violate social constraints. But in the world of art, we know it takes massive skill and discipline to make it that love look raw, spontaneous, free and new."