Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"..."Rent" is a fine choice for this widely distinctive theater — granted, in my book, "Rent" is a fine choice for pretty much any theater at any time. But it is a sacred text of the American musical theater, and it must be treated as such. It is so respected here with a production not at all removed from its beginnings, in a city long ago and far away now."
Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended
"...More than topical, the Theo Ubique production feels incredibly authentic, with the winning “in transition” quality of its Rogers Park side street venue an apt equivalent for the Alphabet Streets of New York’s East Village “at the end of the Millennium,” and with its small but ever ingeniously used venue replacing the glitz of a big Broadway stage."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...On the other hand, the intimacy of the place seems appropriate for a show about Reagan-era opt-outs making art and love in a gentrifying, AIDs-devastated lower Manhattan: Overcrowding is part of la vie boheme. The cast is strong, with that just-graduated feel. And the material? All it took was the first few chords of "Seasons of Love" to make the woman one seat away from me break down crying."
Edge - Highly Recommended
"...Though I loved Jonathan Larson's "Rent" back in the day, I went into Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre's production wondering how well the show might have aged. I needn't have. Under Scott Weinstein's direction, the company's version of the show is both intimate and vibrant, perfectly capturing the spirit of community and the family you choose."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Patrick Rooney and Savannah Hoover's central couple Roger and Mimi nail the look, temperament and chemistry, though their lyrics are too often lost to our ears in intimate moments. Still, as staged on Adam Veness's versatile scenic design (strafed with graffiti by nearly a dozen street artists) and featuring at its center, via Jeremy Ramey's resonant music direction, a "Seasons of Love" rendered in gorgeous and all-natural surround sound, this Rent attains a whole new currency."
Theatre By Numbers - Highly Recommended
"...I wholly and completely recommend this production, even if (like me) you have avoided seeing "Rent" prior to now. This is what this musical should be."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...For some people, that may be the most surprising thing about this production: this Rent is quiet and introspective. But it's still passionate, and the reduced volume allows complex pieces like "Christmas Bells" to be appreciated fully, while still supporting the rousing ballads "Seasons of Love" and "La Vie Boheme." Weinstein's prominent featuring of 90s communication devices acknowledges that Rent takes place in a past era, but Theo Ubique's production raised funds for the AIDS-related local charity Vital Bridges. Since the issues Rent explores are still around, albeit in different forms, delving into it to find what in the characters is universal allows it to become timeless."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...There is no question in my mind about Weinstein’s understanding of this show. Adam Veness has done a great deal with the set design, utilizing the small space so that every spare inch is used. Kristof Janezic (lighting), Izumi Inaba (costumes), Brock Alter (projections) and Katie Beeks (props) are the technical people who truly make this a complete production. One that the entire theater community should be proud of."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...But Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre’s electrifying 2016 production breathes new life into this modern classic. It’s deserving of both first-time audiences and Rent-heads, alike. This homage to the 20th anniversary of the musical is personal and special, thanks to Scott Weinstein’s excellent, intimate staging. With a gorgeous environmental scenic design by Adam Veness, dynamic choreography by Daniel Spagnuolo, appropriately period costuming by Izumi Inaba and rich, exciting accompaniment by Jeremy Ramey and his band, this production will rank as one of this theatre’s finest contributions to the Chicago musical scene. It truly marks a Season of Love."
Chicago Theater Beat - Highly Recommended
"...One could argue that the audience grows with Rent, now that its initial fans are embarking upon or are well into adulthood, facing the endless debate of art versus commerce, and making a life versus making a living. At this point, most of us have now dealt with the death of a loved one. The message of Act II opener, "Seasons of Love" is even more poignant as one gets older. (I've sung it at a friend's memorial, in fact.) As the cast of Theo Ubique's stellar production harmonized, I wiped the tears from my face and found myself almost unconsciously nodding in resolution and in agreement with the play's main credo: No day but today."
Dueling Critics - Highly Recommended
"...The show is flawlessly cast: Matt Edmonds as Mark, who spends the show documenting everything with his video camera instead of experiencing it, has the perfect imperfect face and a voice which makes melody out of even Larson’s least melodic songs, including the title number. Patrick Rooney as Roger, sulking in his tent like a contemporary Achilles, has the classic floppy-haired tragic romantic look, and is complemented wonderfully by Savannah Hoover’s Mimi. And Aubrey McGrath deserves a special acknowledgment: he plays drag-queen Angel, a part written for a Latino actor, with such life-giving energy that any and all prejudices—for or against drag queens; for or against casting against ethnic type—simply melt away. Without naming every single member of the cast, I can’t do justice to its quality: suffice it to say, go."
Irish American News - Highly Recommended
"...Once again, Theo Ubique Caberet Theater have reached for the stars and bedazzled us with their light. The fantastic use of space, combined with incredible talent, makes a small space seem, as if by magic, a production to match any one would find on Broadway. What makes the experience unique is the intimacy it provides. We, the audience, are immersed in the real tragic comedy that is Rent."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended
"...RENT-heads young and old will want to catch this special staging to see the object of their love so reinvigorated, for sure. And those new to the fold-all twelve of you-will not regret starting your seasons-long journey with Larson's loving legend here."
BroadwayWorld - Highly Recommended
"...The show is a must-see. Spend 135 or so of your "five hundred twenty five thousand six hundred minutes" of this year with Theo Ubique's RENT. It's well worth it."
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...While pay phones and middle class concerns over the spread of AIDS are largely a thing of the past, it will always be difficult to balance one’s pursuit of art against the ledger of responsibility. For some of us, it is as true at the age of forty as it was at twenty. We still pay the rent but dream of a time when we will not have to."