Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...The loneliness at the heart of the performing artist is of course well-worn territory. At one point Quinn's Jimmy points out on a fishing trip with Williams that, "The only place he's comfortable is out here in the middle of nowhere or out there (onstage), in the middle of everywhere." But Oyloe, though he's never quite as dissipated as one would expect for a man who began drinking in grade school, makes us believe that there is an aching void at the center of Williams' soul."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Playwrights Randal Myler and Mark Harelik try to connect the dots with 20 Williams tunes—but, lacking the messy details of human life, the story seems clunky and thin. Julie Ritchey and Omen Sade's dutiful staging for Filament Theatre Ensemble drags the show out to two and a half hours and reduces Tee-tot to a Mystical Negro. As Williams, though, Peter Oyloe sings like gangbusters."
Windy City Times - Recommended
"...Some of these chronicles are narrated—story-theater style—by auxiliary characters, but the major part of the two-and-a-half-hour evening is devoted to a roster of Williams classics, performed with just the correct amount of down-home swagger by a quartet of cheerful sidemen backing the suspiciously healthy-looking Williams portrayed by Peter Oyloe. Oyloe sings up a storm and yodels right smartly, but has yet to find the "darkness" we are told lurks beneath the passive exterior of this introverted genius. That said, the show nevertheless generates Southern-bred nostalgia almost overflowing its tiny space. Royal George, are you listening? This could be your cabaret room's answer to that other toe-tapping lesson in U.S. music history over at the Apollo."
Centerstage - Recommended
"...As Williams, Peter Oyloe brings the entire package: he can sing, he can play, and he can act too, even if he’s rarely given the opportunity to do so. With his trusty band at his side, Oyloe reels off song after song straight to the audience, with all the quiet swagger of a real rock and roller. The band, (and every member deserves mention) consists of Jesse Woelfel on bass, Eric Labanauskas on fiddle, Tim McNulty on slide guitar and Sam Quinn as Jimmy, the band’s guitarist and Williams’ trusty side man. Quinn is truly a delight, bringing an aw shucks glee to the role that should have been annoying but was completely endearing instead. Also noteworthy is Gerald Richardson as Tee-Tot, Williams mentor and the play’s bluesy chorus. This man can sing. That’s really all there is to say."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...Kudos to Directors Julie Ritchey and Omen Sade for mounting such a free-flowing, well-staged production. They nimbly blended Williams’ story with his songbook that plays like a crowd-pleasing hillbilly hootenanny. For a mere $22, Filament Theatre Ensemble offers a first-class musical and dramatic treat. Hank Williams lovers and those who love classic country music will enjoy this show. Peter Oyloe gives his finest all-around performance to date as he authentically plays Hank Williaams, Sr. Hopefully, musical directors around Chicago will see Peter Oyloe’s performance realizing that he is a major talent worthy of leading man roles."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended
"...Filament Theatre Ensemble does a superb job of bringing the life, times, and music of Hank Williams together with the dark angels that led to an early death in the back of his Cadillac convertible as he was driven to a one-night-gig in Ohio. His corpse was robbed of its contents before he could be returned home. A serviceable script that resembles the bio-musicals at the Black Ensemble Theater, Randal Myler and Mark Harelik’s narrator-driven tribute drama covers the highlights—and lowlights—of Williams’ meteoric fall. His beloved Mama Lilly (Danon Dastugue) tells how he learned to find his own hard times to sing about from the black troubadour Tee-Tot (Gerald Richardson), letting the music come before the singer. The Depression happily provides all too much inspiration for Williams’ hard-luck ballads and desperate anthems."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"... It is always a pleasure to witness a young theater company spread its wings into new material and new styles. Filament Theatre has been around a few years and have a strong membership- full of talented actors, directors, designers and of most importance, people who care about what they do in order to give the audiences who attend their productions, the best bang for their buck! There is present production, “Hank Williams, Lost Highway” written by Randal Myler and Mark Harelik, is a stunningly directed (Julie Ritchey and Omen Sade) portrayal of this “Country Western” legend’s life and the imprint that his music has left on those who love the C&W sounds."
Chicago Theater Beat - Highly Recommended
"...I said before that this is a transportive musical, and I wasn’t being hyperbolic: in the intimate black box of Athenaeum’s third floor theatre, the walls fell away and I was right there in the church, the backwoods, the grand stage, the truck stop."
