Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...Both the story itself (a tale of monumental destruction, in which the full force of nature meets human unpreparedness), and the Lookingglass telling of it (an act of immense creativity) are enthralling. Most notably, the fire itself is brilliantly embodied by Lindsey Noel Whiting, a fleet yet steely slip of a balletic acrobat, whose blazing red hair and white Victorian-style chemise give her an innocence that belies the devouring, pitiless nature of her “character.” In a finely conceived, wonderfully executed performance, she traps, embraces and wrestles with her victims, oblivious to their efforts to escape her."
Windy City Times - Recommended
"...The cast is abetted by an inventive physical production, always a Lookingglass signature, involving kinetic scenery, music and sound effects, puppetry, free-form gymnastics, choreography and elaborate props. The fire itself is represented by large red confetti thrown around or falling like snow and swirling, an almost-ethereal effect that nonetheless strongly suggests the horror and unpredictability of a wind-driven blaze. The many meta-theatrical devices are skillfully presented, energetic and entertaining but they cannot substitute for emotional engagement, which The Great Fire stimulates only in fleeting and isolated moments."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"... First produced in 1999, Lookingglass ensemble member Musial’s work draws its protagonists from historical records and personal narratives in the possession of the Chicago History Museum. But the playwright turns them into collagelike, out-of-time figures, allowing fire marshal Robert A. Williams (Gary Wingert), for instance, to lecture us on later disasters such as the Iroquois Theatre and their bearing on the city’s current fire codes. The text has also been updated since the initial mounting to take serendipitous advantage of Lookingglass’s current home in the pre-fire Water Tower Water Works, as well as to address other aspects of modern Chicago life. (Thomas J. Cox’s apoplectic Mayor Roswell B. Mason is, shall we say, particularly Emanuelesque.)"
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"... Lookingglass Theatre’s The Great Fire is a thrilling piece of stage craft that effectively tells the story of the Chicago Fire on stage – no easy task. This production only needs you imagination to fuel your total involvement."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"... Lookingglass Theatre Company reprises a very visual show, a 90-minute blast from the past that takes special significance from its very location —the Water Tower pumping station that survived the great fire of 1871. Well, its original wooden roof burned up and fell in, stopping the all-important pumps from containing the blaze north of the river--but the exterior remains as it was. John Musial’s very collaborative effort pays tribute to the seminal conflagration that inspired a city to arise, Phoenix-like, from the ashes."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Highly Recommended
"...There is so much to love about this dramatic comedy! THE GREAT FIRE educates and entertains. I leave the theatre with a deeper respect for Chicago and my great grandmother. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for their perseverance."
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"... This is a 90 minute production that will educate and entertain you. You may want to continue learning about the events during this period, but the play is designed only to let you know what began to take place “after” the Cicil War. Musial’s direction is skillful and the choreography ( I prefer stage movement) by Julia Rhoads with some very special music composed by Eric Huffman add some true magic to this frantic piece of history set on a stage, located on the very site of the event that caused our city to review itself and its people in order to :start all over again”!"
Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended
"...the real force of The Great Fire comes, as it should, with the destruction of the fire itself. John Dalton’s set takes a thrillingly brutal pounding during the course of the production, at several points so much so those in the front row might fear for their safety. Not to worry of course. It’s all just a marvelously effective illusion."
