Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended

"... Kelli Harrington, the little-known actress playing Margaret Johnson in Fred Anzevino and Brenda Didier's deftly sung, intensely intimate, astutely staged and very moving little production of the Adam Guettel musical "The Light in the Piazza," is currently delivering one of the best performances of the year on a Chicago stage. And Rachel Klippel, the raw but honest young singer playing Margaret's mentally challenged daughter, is not too far behind."
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Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended

"...The production (which also features fine work by Clay Sanderson, Christin Boulette and William Aaron) winningly captures the romantic allure (and humor) of post-war Italy as experienced by constrained 1950s Americans, and taps into all the complexities of romantic and familial love. The performers here are not only fully exposed (working barely an inch from the audience), but thrillingly expose their hearts and souls. And when their voices join they can make you believe you’re in a tiny opera house. At every turn they reveal the full beauty of this musical as never before."
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Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...This exquisite musical by composer-lyricist Adam Guettel and playwright Craig Lucas receives a dramatically and musically pitch-perfect production from the Theo Ubique Theatre Company under the direction of Fred Anzevino and Brenda Didier."
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NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended

"... Directors Fred Anzevino and Brenda Didier do a wonderful job of letting the story unfold via the music, which is left in the wonderfully capable hands, literally, of pianist and music director Jeremy Ramey who has minimized the schmaltz factor of the score by letting go of some of the Liberace-like arpeggios and keeping a tight but effective acoustic orchestration of piano, harp, violin and bass viol. Anzevino and Didier never let us forget that there is a dark underside to the story in that a daughter has just as much right to have her shot at her own happiness as her mother did and that despite their mental differences, Mom has already failed, the daughter has nowhere to go but up."
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Centerstage - Recommended

"...I will warn that “A Light in the Pizza” is not for everyone. Guettel cares little for traditional melodies and you will leave the theatre with nary a hummable tune in your head. Personally, I prefer someone like Sondheim, who knows how to marry complex theory with catchy hooks. But if you think “A Light in the Piazza” is your kind of show, then head on up to Theo Ubique for a first class production. You’ll barely notice that it’s being done in miniature."
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Chicago Stage Review - Highly Recommended

"... Enough praise cannot be lavished on musical director Jeremy Ramey. In retrofitting this complicated score from a full orchestra down to a four-piece ensemble, he creates a musical reduction that explodes with more emotional impact and subtly than its original incarnation. Janelle Jansen Lake (harp), Caroline Yoshimoto (violin), Michael Sinclair (bass) and Ramey (piano) are a quartet of absolute musical magic. Ramey also brings the best out of his singers and makes the seemingly impossible task of balancing the voices and instruments in this small space seem simple. The unmiked vocals, combined with the sublime orchestra, create an acoustic musical purity that is breathtaking."
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Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...Adam Veness’s set design gorgeously captures the splendor of Florence with impeccably constructed columns and arches, floral embellishments and a detailed backdrop. Vocal powerhouse Harrington brings immense depth to Margaret; her relationship with Clara is the show’s most poignant love story. That’s no slight on Justin Adair, whose silky yet robust vocals make Fabrizio undeniably swoonworthy. His ability to convey clear emotions while singing in Italian speaks to one of Piazza’s themes: The heart translates what ears cannot."
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Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended

"...Call The Light in the Piazza the miracle of Glenwood Avenue. Eventually the show will have to close, but only when the theater administration calls a halt. There will be an audience for this musical until Theo Ubique decides to move on. And a significant percentage of that audience should be repeat customers."
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ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended

"...Once more Theo Ubique finds a way to mount a full-throttle musical in that small venue originally designed to be a cabaret club. It is now a home for sophisticated, plush musicals that speak and look right into your eyes and heart. The power of intimate musicals is manifest in all its glory at the No Exit Cafe. Experience The Light in the Piazza and you’ll be hooked."
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Chicago Stage Standard - Highly Recommended

"...Rogers Park is beaming once again with the animated “light” that is Theo Ubique. The season of love seems to fall perfectly with Theo Ubique’s latest marvel “The Light in the Piazza”, and success falls right along with it. After immediately stepping into the small, intimate space at the No Exit Café, the sweet musical styling of old Italy began to float through air, almost making you forget Chicago was right outside the black painted door. But how we longed to stay in the streets of Italy watching young romance blossom into a love that could last an eternity. Theo Ubique’s production of “The Light in the Piazza” is a true triumph for the piece, and their static force behind each musical number is a delight for all theatre lovers."

Chicago Now - Somewhat Recommended

"...Suspending my sensitivity to the subject matter, I did enjoy the score much more under the musical direction of Jeremy Ramey. We arrived 5 minutes to curtain and were seated in the very last two seats, far corner, back row, next to the band. We could have turned pages...that’s how close we were. Not great seats and we struggled to see over audience and around structural poles. (TIP: Purchase the dinner package for best seating or arrive early to grab seats in front of the bar.) The band also played during pieces of dialogue and because of our proximity we couldn’t hear the characters’ conversations. But we could hear the mini orchestra and they were exquisite."
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Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...As I stated above, the entire ensemble is perfect; Pavi Praczko as Fabrizio’s brother, Michael Kingston deftly handles the father and denise Tamburrino is adorable as his mother. Elizabeth Lanza, Clay Sanderson,Christin Boulette and William Aaron round out the cast. The voices, although few in number, fill the theater as if there was a full cast under the musical direction of Jeremy Ramey and his orchestra . They are also small in numbers, but huge in talent as they bring this musical score to life. A piano, violin,bass and harp is all they have and yet, the sounds were as resounding as when I saw this with 16 pieces."
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Huffington Post - Highly Recommended

"...Co-directors Fred Anzevino and Brenda Didier have assembled a uniquely talented cast. While not everyone fits the role perfectly (Harrington reads a bit too young for Margaret, Klippel a bit shrill for Clara and Adair a bit, well, gawkish), it all works in its own special way. This probably has a lot to do with Adam Guettel's sweeping, sophisticated score, which I feel is one of the most unapologetically gorgeous works to come along since West Side Story."
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