Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...Watch Nussbaum in a heady, talky play like this one-a three-hander, sure, but you will not be surprised to hear that Einstein is very much at the center of the drama, yakking away for most of the 70-minute running time-and you leave shaking your head in amazement. Nussbaum, I swear, is as unique as was the man he plays."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...the principal reason to see this Northlight Theatre production is to watch Mike Nussbaum, the 93-year-old actor who might easily be dubbed the eighth wonder of the modern world, work his magic as the complicated, ornery, sardonic and all too human genius whose celebrity surely became something of a curse in his later years. Second, this review must come with an immedate spoiler alert, for to explain the premise behind St. Germain's play is to reveal the secret that is its animating force. So read on if you wish, or simply take this as an inducement to catch a remarkable actor (of any age) working at the height of his powers."
Daily Herald - Recommended
"...As for Northlight's crisp, unfussy production, under the ever-sure direction of artistic director BJ Jones, its power rests with its fine cast and ever-vital leading man."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...To look at Mike Nussbaum-the full head of white hair, the eyes poised between melancholy and delight-you might think he was born to play Albert Einstein. And you'd be right. Nussbaum does a great job here, embodying the genius at age 70. If only he had a better occasion for it."
Chicago On the Aisle - Highly Recommended
"...First of all, the 93-year-old actor looks the part down to his toes. But more than that, there’s a nuanced truth in Nussbaum’s physicality, his punctuating movements, the unexpected bursts of energy, the dazzling luminosity that sometimes beams from his face, the visible sinking in dismay. This is masterful acting, genuine ownership of a complicated character and an imposing role."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...But, Relatively is an engrossing drama with excellent performances by three "A" list actors presenting a fine script. Witnessing legendary actors like Mike Nussbaum and Ann Whitney is priceless. Katherine Keberlein holds her own in a terrific performance here."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended
"...Director BJ Jones directs these master artists with a well paced hand so that the emotional punches strike the audience directly in the solar plexus. The scenic design by Jack Magaw has an intimate feel, effectively utilizing beautiful projections by Stephan Mazurek to indicate Princeton."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Albert Einstein was noted for his brilliance, and yet, few know a great deal about his personal life. In Mark St. Germain's "Relativity" now having its World Premiere on the stage at Northlight Theatre, we are taken back in history, deep into the past that was his. Even if you are not into math, equations or science, I am suggesting you find a way to visit The Northlight Theatre in Skokie for this production. Directed by Artistic Director BJ Jones and playing Chicago favorite Mike Nussbaum (there could be none better in this role). This is a "Must See" production which I am sure will have a few Jeff Award nominations."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Any review of Northlight Theatre's production of "Relativity" will mention this most important fact, so I might as well begin my own review acknowledging it front and center - whatever the production's merits (and there are indeed many), the most notable aspect of "Relativity" is that it stars Mike Nussbaum, the legendary Chicago actor who is not only, at 94, the oldest actor nationwide still working on the stage, but undoubtedly one of the finest actors ever to grace the stage. To see Nussbaum is to see a true master at work, and he could make even the most meandering, superfluous material into riveting theater."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...P. J. Jones does a fine job of sustaining interest and even excitement in a play that relies almost totally on language. Jack Magaw's detailed set credibly evokes Einstein's study. Stephen Mazurek's created the atmospheric projections flashed against the rear stage. JR Lederle designed the lighting, Rachel Leritz the costumes, and Andrew Hansen the sound plan. Nussbaum and Whitney occasionally sounded muffled and perhaps would have benefited from some discreet miking."
Picture This Post - Recommended
"...Seizing the availability of 94 year-old Mike Nussbaum-one-time Artistic Director of the Northlight and reported by Actors Equity to be the oldest working actor on stages today- who takes on the Einstein role, Northlight Theatre gives us an imagined Albert Einstein, in his elder years. He is at Princeton, a long-established icon and rock star of science before the term "rock star" was known."
Splash Magazine - Recommended
"...Director BJ Jones did a nice job of bringing out the various personalities and keeping the impossible interpersonal conflict centered on a series of really engaging moral issues, brought forth by the disclosures Lieserl/Harding makes about her adoptive family. The premise here is that this "good' husband and father (unlike Einstein) gave up a lifetime's artistic opportunity to nurse a sick wife."
