Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
Writers' Theatre

Chicago Tribune- Somewhat Recommended

"...Michael Halberstam’s revival is certainly a blue-chip and entertaining affair, replete with a cast of many of Chicago’s finest thespians, an elaborate and exceedingly imaginative setting from designer Collette Pollard (who built an entire theater-within-a theater inside Writers’ small space), and tricks aplenty."
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Chris Jones

Chicago Sun Times- Highly Recommended

"...I've seen a good number of productions of "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" over the years. But not until Thursday's opening of the razor-sharp, bristling tragicomical, often-revelatory take on Tom Stoppard's careermaking 1966 play at Writers' Theatre could I actually envision the playwright sitting at his desk at the moment of creation and, in an almost palpably giddy state, congratulating himself on the absolutely delicious brilliance of his idea."
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Hedy Weiss

Time Out Chicago- Recommended

"...The cast is pitch-perfect: Longtime associates Kane and Fortunato have the kind of easy comic rapport that’s earned, not faked, on top of a remarkable facility with Stoppard’s quicksilver wordplay and intellectual rhythms. Gilmore radiates energy as the grandiose and mildly sinister leader of the tragedians. The only questionable step is Halberstam and sound designer Andrew Hansen’s use of new wave rock songs like “Burning Down the House” and “Once in a Lifetime” as act bumpers. After all, Stoppard’s play seems to illustrate that even the least among us are more than talking heads."
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Kris Vire

Chicago Reader- Recommended

"...It's hard to imagine a bigger pair of patsies than these two, which may be why Tom Stoppard decided not to try. His 1966 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead—now running at Writers' Theatre in a crisp, smart, deeply felt production directed by Michael Halberstam—gives an account of the doings in Hamlet from their point of view."
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Tony Adler

NewCity Chicago- Highly Recommended

"...Kudos to Writers’ Theatre artistic director Michael Halberstam for a staging that refreshingly recognizes that, particularly in a space as intimate as Writers Theatre, this play becomes a far more authentic experience and much funnier when the characters are not in on the joke that we, the audience, complete by our mere presence. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern—played by Sean Fortunato and Timothy Edward Kane, respectively—have no life whatsoever off stage (and page) and the confusion as to what they are doing in Hamlet’s world is precisely because Shakespeare had created them merely as minor stepping stones to drive his plot."
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Dennis Polkow

Windy City Times- Highly Recommended

"...it's not the intelligence and literary parody that impress me; it's Stoppard's debt to Samuel Beckett and Oscar Wilde that seems so clear. The play is an absurdist work written at the height of European absurdism with Beckett, Pinter, Ionesco, Havel and others at the height of their writing powers. Like Beckett's tramps in Waiting for Godot or Pinter's killers in The Dumb Waiter, Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern find themselves in a random and often cruel universe controlled by forces beyond their understanding, which renders their lives meaningless. Guildenstern continually tries to make scientific sense of it all while the dimmer Rosencrantz drifts with the current. Meantime the literary wit, elegant phrases and comedy of manners are descendents of Oscar Wilde. "We're tied to a language that makes up in obscurity what it lacks in style," Guildenstern observes in a pure-Wilde moment."
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Jonathan Abarbanel

Copley News Service- Highly Recommended

"...Director Michael Halberstam orchestrates the performances beautifully. This is a talky show, especially the first act, but the multi-level action flows with engrossing inevitability. This is first and foremost a play about language and Halberstam ensures that all of Stoppard’s sparkling dialogue radiates through the production. Collette Pollard designed the set, Rachel Anne Healy the Elizabethan-style costumes, Keith Parham the strong lighting, and Andrew Hansen the sound. Hansen also composed the original music."

Dan Zeff

Chicago Theater Blog- Highly Recommended

"...While Gilmore handles the humor with fervor, he really shines when he gets to showcase his character’s obsessive personality. After Rosencrantz and Guildenstern abandon the players before they’ve had the chance to perform, the Player performs a monologue describing the pain and humiliation his actors and he shared. Guildenstern criticizes the melodrama of the speech, but in the hands of an actor like Gilmore the melodrama becomes the foundation for honest despair and real pain, a compliment that can be given to the entire ensemble Halberstam has gathered."
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Oliver Sava

Chicagoist- Highly Recommended

"...Director Michael Halberstam’s staging and Collette Pollard’s simple scene design makes it work perfectly. The stage backdrop is the seats of another theater, reflecting the ones you find yourself sitting in. So when the actors face upstage, with subtle and effective stage lights illuminating from behind, they are in Hamlet. And when they face us, they are both offstage and in R&G. This explanation might not make sense, but trust us, the exact lighting cues and perfectly choreographed blocking makes it easy to comprehend."
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Suzy Evans

Edge- Highly Recommended

"...As our heroes make their way to Elsinore at the top of the show, Halberstam uses the floor in front of a traditional, if shallow, stage backed by the usual red curtain. When the players arrive, they command the stage, turning Rosencrantz and Guildenstern into their unwilling audience."
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Christine Malcom

ChicagoCritic- Highly Recommended

"...Nothing equals the excitement and immediacy of excellent live theater. Those who’ve you’ve seen the play, or the 1990 movie, will enjoy this highly skilled production. And for those who’ve never before seen it –what are you waiting for? It’s a real treat."

Beverly Friend

Steadstyle Chicago- Highly Recommended

"...The title roles are skillfully played by Sean Fortunato (Rosencrantz, or is he?) and Timothy Edward Kane (Guildenstern?), two actors who can do almost anything in any theater: drama, musical or comedy. They are brilliant! Director Michael Halberstam has chosen wisely in these two actors to play these difficult roles. There are times you feel that you are watching Abbott and Costello or perhaps Laurel and Hardy, and Stoppard's lines, tongue twisters and insanity are delivered perfectly. They never miss a beat and the looks on their faces at the situations that arise are priceless. Just watching them is worth the price of admission."
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Al Bresloff