Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...With "My Kind of Town," a long-in-the-works drama that gripped its audience on Saturday night, Conroy clearly wants to indict the city he just as clearly loves because it buried its head in the lakefront sand as activities more associated with terrorists or repressive governments transpired. You don't get the sense that Conroy particularly wants to further pillory police Cmdr. Jon Burge or the real-life protagonists of this sordid scandal — none of whom is named in this play — rather, he wants to grab Chicagoans by the scruff of the neck."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...“My Kind of Town” (the title is more than a little ironic) is all the more remarkable given the well-known ferocity of Conroy’s decades of crusading journalism that revealed a long and persistent pattern of police torture and forced confessions in Chicago’s Area 2 police district. Inspired by true cases, but fictionalized and telescoped for dramatic purposes, the play’s nine characters are never simple mouthpieces, but rather, vividly real human beings caught up in hellish dilemmas and warp-tight, searingly truthful exchanges."
Centerstage - Highly Recommended
"... Director Nick Bowling’s ensemble cast is flawless. As Ortha Jeffries, the young African-American at the center of this electrifying production, Charles Gardner explodes onstage in a star-making TimeLine debut. His anger and frustration permeates every scene and gives a name and face to years of statistics. Multi-talented Ora Jones offers so much heart, wisdom and despair to Otha’s hardworking mother, Rita, and it is her heartbreaking face that the audience will remember long afterwards. Derek Garza, as Otha’s attorney Robert Morales, steadily grows stronger as the story unfolds, and Maggie Kettering captures attorney Maureen Buckley’s struggle between professional and ethical allegiance."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...My Kind of Town is an important play, one that successfully depicts the complicated ecosystem in which men and women who’ve sworn to serve and protect the citizenry can become its greatest oppressors. But as the intended conversation starter, Conroy’s characters lack the clear motivations to achieve his goal to provoke and upset. The thoughtfulness is here; the agitation isn’t."
Chicago On the Aisle - Highly Recommended
"...Directed by the ever-resourceful Nick Bowling, “My Kind of Town” churns forward with provocative ambiguity, scene melding into scene thanks in part to Brian Sidney Bembridge’s efficient, adaptable set. Far from a rush to judgment, it is the even-handed work of a good reporter become adept dramatist, a mélange of characters and circumstances signifying life on the streets and at home in the kitchen. As for the ominous basement, who knows? We’re never down there."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"...The TimeLine ensemble is filled with pinpoint casting. As the eye of the storm, Charles Gardner delivers a chilling and persuasive performance as Otha Jeffries, a man so twisted by society and his own demons that he is a menace to his family and to society at large. It’s a scorching and uncompromising piece of acting that doesn’t let the viewers off easy in ordering their sympathies. Ora Jones is brilliant as Otha’s anguished mother, desperate to clear her son of the murder charge while recognizing that liberating him from prison could release a destructive force too far gone in anger and hostility for redemption."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"... My Kind of Town is a power, yet balanced,drama thatis free of polemic,rather it should stimulate a means of provocation and catharsisthatcan be helpfulin placingmoral responsibility to those who were a partofthose terrible days. We never really knowtheend of Otha’s story yet we do. I can see this play as a film or a cable TV show."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended
"...Wisely or not, Conroy leaves it to the audience to determine whether Otha is vindicated (or is guilty for that matter). Some will dismiss the inconclusive “conclusion” as a cop out (no pun intended). But, no question, TimeLine Theatre’s unresolved, open-ended ending makes it clear that creatures like Burge can happen again."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Highly Recommended
"...I’ve seen many shows at TimeLine Theatre. This is my favorite one ever. Conroy’s twists shock and disturb. And Bowling’s cast makes corruption a family affair. It's a brilliant mixture of crime and human drama! One show that won't let you down, it's MY KIND OF TOWN."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"... This is a finely tuned cast bringing these characters to life. In addition to the above mentioned, Danica Monroe as Ann Breen, and Carolyn Hoerdemann as her sister. Gardner is a standout in his portrayal of Otha with great energy, but the entire cast makes this production one that should be seen! I will say that the storyline and the language may not be suitable for younger children, but high schoolers ( mature) will learn a great deal form the words of Conroy. The costumes by Alex Wren Meadows,, Nic Jones’ lighting,original music ( perfect in every way) and sound by Mikhail Fiksel,U.S.A. and the projections by Mike Tutaj alone with the vast array of props handled by D.J. Reed are just the icing on a cake that is perfection. If you love history, if you love mystery, if you love cop stories, you will love this show. I know that I did!"