Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...If director Jim Schneider provided better pacing (entrances and exits consistently let in massive gusts of dead air) and didn’t strand actors behind furniture quite so often, things might come to life. Thankfully the play increasingly focuses on Mrs. Erlynne, the fallen woman whose noble sacrifice for the title character upended Victorian theatrical morality, which allows actress Joanna Riopelle to command the final two acts. Her grounded, unaffected performance supplies affecting pathos."
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...There’s much merriment before the satisfying outcome to this moral impasse. Wilde has concocted–and Schneider assembled–a tony cross-section of patrician eccentricities, including an Australian parvenu (Shawn Hansen), Wildean epigrammatist (Michael D. Graham), matriarch (Linda Robert) of the Lady Bracknell persuasion, and assorted rogues from the grandest galleries. At the core is the fascinating triangle of Riopelle’s mercurial and mercenary Mrs. E., Delay’s sweet soubrette Lady W, and Fraim’s clueless but never flawless husband, the frailest creature of them all. Irresistibly through June 7, Wilde’s treasure (town)house is open by appointment."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...Director Jim Schneider ensures the main characters' mounting sense of frustration is mirrored in their body language. Better yet, he makes certain they exploit every inch of space available to them, and the set seems to expand as the play progresses. We see Lady Windermere in particular traipse helplessly back and forth from her terrace to her writing desk, upon which rests a fan she first threatens to wield as a weapon against then gives to Mrs. Erlynne for salvaging her reputation and near loss of her own child and husband. We see a rousing supporting cast enter and stumble onto stage center through the imposing Windermere foyer. And we see the men crowd into Lord Darlington's smoking room after the ball, standing to pour themselves more whiskey then walking to warm themselves by the fire as the badinage escalates into a chewy vehicle for Wilde's most mordant observations on human love, lust, and limitation."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...I love period plays, especially those in which the characters offer up one bon mot after another, all with perfect manners. No one writes better ‘manners’ plays than Oscar Wilde. His Victorian masterpiece, “Lady Windermere’s Fan”, has a cornucopia of memorable bon mots. “Lady Windermere’s Fan” as produced by the Dead Writers Theater Collective was a delightful experience and I give it 4 Spotlights."
Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended
"...Dead Writers endeavors to present works by or about deceased writers and playwrights, and this seldom-produced comedy by Oscar Wilde is a much welcome play to warm our Chicago Springtime. With a few minor adjustments in staging, this production could be stellar. As it now plays, unless audiences are seated (in frustratingly unnumbered seats) high above the action in the furthest rows, much of the production will seem like a radio play. This is a shame since this talented cast, performing on a beautiful set in sumptuous costumes and hair, truly deserve to be seen and heard."
NewCity Chicago - Recommended
"...The play breezes through its two hours, with Megan Delay doing admirable work as the titular Lady Windermere, and Joanna Riopelle resonating as the mysterious Mrs. Erlynne. Despite a few near misses, most of the humor lands squarely and brings the evening to a close with a satisfactory end. As this piece isn’t pushing any boundaries more than 120 years beyond its initial London run, it is a safe, clever and appropriately light entertainment for a late spring evening."
