Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"... Deep directorial work with fine ensemble actors is the most successful element of this production. When John Hoogenakker's soused Willie gets the heebie-jeebies, you get the shakes yourself. That's just one example. The bar is filled with these rich and haunting individual pictures, be it James Harms' heartbreaking Jimmy (a quietly magnificent turn), John Judd's seething Piet, John Reeger's atrophied old limey, Larry Neumann Jr.'s old circus man or John Douglas Thompson's Joe Mott. Thompson, whose big scene is riveting, offers an endlessly complex fusion of geniality and rage. And then there's Lee Wilkof's Hugo, a darkly comic character who barely lifts his head from the table, and you can't blame him."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...With his sad-eyed ebullience, his hail-fellow angst, Nathan Lane was born to play Hickey. And, sure enough, he's marvelous. All glory to Nathan Lane. But this Iceman is overwhelmingly an ensemble triumph. In the last Goodman main-stage show, Camino Real, director Calixto Bieito put strong actors in abject situations and ended up creating what came across to me as an atmosphere of abuse, as if the point were to belittle the cast members themselves. Here, too, some of the company have to abandon their vanity in order to embody their roles—after all, this is a play about ruined old alcoholics. And yet this time they're ennobled in the process. John Reeger's Cecil, in particular, falls into that category. But we also get brave, unselfish work from Brian Dennehy as Larry, Stephen Ouimette as Harry, and James Harms as Jimmy."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...Although Lane and Dennehy's names deservedly receive top billing for this Goodman Theatre revival of The Iceman Cometh, the all-around performance quality is so high that people will be definitely talking about this production for years to come."
Centerstage - Recommended
"...Even though Lane is a disappointment as Hickey, Dennehy is fantastic as Larry Slade, the bar’s resident philosopher. He creates a cranky, aching core around which the rest of the cast, save Lane, can build. Ouimette likewise gives a standout performance as Hope, flipping back and forth between jollity, melancholy, and explosive rage. Lastly, New Yorker John Douglas Thompson brings a brittle nobility to Joe Mott, the play’s lone African American character. There’s an entire lifetime of subjugated pride and resentment oozing out of him at every turn."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...With his charisma and sense of humor, Lane is good at conveying Hickey’s life-of-the-party bonhomie and does a creditable impression of a road-to-Damascus convert. His largely external performance, however, leaves less room for the man’s shrewdness and darker depths (and his barking line readings occasionally slide toward the Regis Philbin–esque)."
Chicago On the Aisle - Highly Recommended
"... What a sad and hilarious and human spectacle is this “Iceman,” painted into life with precise and loving brushstrokes by director Robert Falls and an indelible cast of characters. But even to praise one aspect of this production first is to unjustly subordinate another. It is a complete triumph, a perfectly harmonized creation from concept and characterization to set designer Kevin Depinet’s multiple perspectives on a melancholy saloon, Merrily Murray-Walsh’s costumes well fitted to a world-worn lot and Natasha Katz’s lighting that adorns, mourns, accentuates and beatifies."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"... The collection of outstanding performances is likely to be remembered for years to come. Every character has at least one major speech along with the ensemble interaction. This is easily the most emotional reading of Iceman of the three productions I’ve seen. There is an edge of hysteria among the characters that underscores their desperation. The staging is naturalistic, but the acting often achieves an operatic intensity."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...Our visit to Harry Hope’s dive is deliciously populated with a colorful assortment of characters that out interest never wanes. Great writing, quirky characters, profound human traits all combine to make for grand theatre. The Iceman Cometh is a “must see’ show for all serious theatre patrons."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...Robert Falls' production of "The Iceman Cometh" is infuriating and magnificent. If you are a fan of O'Neill, a lover of all things theatrical, or someone who needs to experience all that is buzz-worthy in Chicago, try to grab a ticket now for this epic starring Nathan Lane and Brian Dennehy. If you are not up for a very dense, nearly five-hour theater going experience, you are not alone, as the opening night audience thinned noticeably with each passing act."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Highly Recommended
"...Award-winning Playwright Eugene O’Neill is a masterful storyteller. He takes a bunch of barflies and makes them real people. He gives them dreams and lets them drink them away. It’s depressing but also enlightening. Sure, these guys are buzz killers. Their lives are exaggerated wastes of time. But there is something also relatable. O’Neill personifies flaws like self-loathing, over-indulgence, life complacency along with cruelty, self absorption and fear. It’s a virtual smorgasbord of self-discovery. There is a stunning take away for every individual in this timeless classic."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...We all have our dreams! The current production on the stage of the Goodman Theatre, Eugene O’Neill’s classic, “The Iceman Cometh”, a story about a variety of personalities, all who have lost their dreams in the bottle, is in fact, for true theater audiences, a dream come true!"
Huffington Post - Highly Recommended
"...So, Lane. He's probably the reason most people will check out this production -- the curiosity factor. Can the funny-sounding musical comedy man do heavy drama? Why, of course he can. Lane is a hardworking actor. And, if anything, that's his roadblock here -- his hard work is in full display, particularly during his final revelation where Lane's inherent charm must be stripped away to show deep, disturbing vulnerability. While Lane isn't owning the role yet, I'd wager after some time in Hickey's shoes, Lane will be nothing short of revelatory."
Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended
"...The Iceman Cometh to the Goodman Theatre with all the expectations one would expect from an endeavor staring Nathan Lane and Brian Dennehy. Adding to this hype is director Robert Falls who has directed six other Eugene O’Neill plays all of which starred Mr. Dennehy. His 2006 production of a Long Day’s Journey into Night (which premiered at the Goodman Theatre before moving to Broadway) resulted in Dennehy earning his second Tony Award for best actor. Nathan Lane, of course, is no stranger to the stage and has two Tony Awards of his own."
