Faith Healer presented by Oak Park Festival Theatre at Madison Street Theatre

Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended

"...Perhaps Frank himself, despite his many lapses of character, has the best take on what their lives together have added up to — "always balanced somewhere between the absurd and the momentous." Bremner's stellar cast nails the harsh but humane qualities of Friel's tale with performances that haunt the mind long after the light fades."

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...Belinda Bremner's fine cast perform with a minimum of props on a nearly empty stage--a choice that heightens the power of Friel's words. The story that unfolds is funny, heartbreaking, and beautiful. Kevin Theis is at once charming and chilling as the inspired, crazy, ultimately self-destructive title character."

ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended

"...If you listen closely at the start,  you’ll quickly be hooked. The vivid language  and the colorful anecdotes will keep you engaged. The mystery unfolds with a rich blend of drollery, pathos and bewilderment. In the hands of expert actors with  strong command of their material, the action of the stories will catapult your interest. Faith Healer will have you on the edge of your chair in wonderment.  I can’t think of a finer work of pure storytelling than Brian Friel’s Faith Healer. Wonderful material in deft hands makes for a fine evening of theatre.  This show is a gem!"

Chicago Theater Beat - Somewhat Recommended

"...Faith Healer sways off-track in the one place it can’t afford to: the title-character. Theis gets carried away with the weathered Irish persona. His jagged, gravel-heavy dialect work pushes beyond brogue into a realm more comparable to a pirate or Michael Keaton in “Beetlejuice.” The effort for realism shows admirable dedication, but a character as layered as Frank aught to be born from instincts, not donned like a St. Patrick’s Day costume. Theis appears to have those instincts—veiled, they do no good."