 Richard III
Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Chicago Tribune- Somewhat Recommended
"...The gap between Acton, a formatively skilled classical actor with a long list of credits in Washington, D.C., and the rest of the company is indicative of a common problem on Navy Pier. The Chicago actors in the show operate in the kind of conversational, naturalistic style that Gaines, to her credit, has nurtured and supported. But the man in the title role is like an old-time English star doing Shakespeare in the colonies — his delivery is mid-Atlantic, his style theatricalized, his performance full of flourish. My beef is not so much with what Acton is doing here — he handles the poetry masterfully, rolling it around on his tongue and teasing out its meaning — but with its disconnect to the aesthetic of the rest of the company."
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Chris Jones
Chicago Sun Times- Highly Recommended
"...The quest for total political power -- and the insatiable hunger it seems to generate -- has always been with us. But few playwrights had a more remarkable grasp on such drives than Shakespeare. And "Richard III" is among the playwright's most masterful case studies of the psychology, treachery, brutality and sheer mania involved in the pursuit of such an inevitably doomed goal."
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Hedy Weiss
Time Out Chicago- Somewhat Recommended
"...Two major issues hamper Chicago Shakespeare’s production of this rich, undisciplined text. The first is a welter of questionable design choices. The costumes, featuring odd quilted vests and leggings, place the characters somewhere between Star Trek and the Vail ski slopes. Henry VI appears to be interred in a garment bag. And the heavy-metal score, thunderous sound effects and occasional fog all threaten to turn this into Richard on Ice. Second, while Acton’s Richard is spirited throughout, his performance, despite its physical flair and sadistic glee, never quite settles into a full-fledged take on the hunchbacked king; it’s less a character than a clutch of mannerisms, edging into Black Adder territory."
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John Beer
Chicago Reader- Recommended
"...Acton supplies an entertaining performance for most of the three-hour show, and Gaines gets to indulge her Jacobean sensibilities in ways that don't turn ludicrous the way they did in her Macbeth last season. The scene in which Richard's ghostly victims promenade, cursing their executioner and blessing Richmond, is chillingly effective. And the cast, weighted toward longtime Chicago pros, is strong—particularly Jennifer Harmon, Wendy Robie, Angela Ingersoll, and Mary Ann Thebus as the royal mothers and wives who have to bear the toad in ways the men can't possibly comprehend."
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Tony Adler
NewCity Chicago- Somewhat Recommended
"...With Barbara Gaines’ Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s season-opening production, Washington D.C. actor Wallace Acton plays Richard with such affectations and disinterest that we don’t feel a thing. From the first moments of Richard’s soliloquy “Now is the winter of our discontent,” Acton is up there talking to himself, not us, refusing to connect either with the audience nor anyone else in the play. At one point after revealing his plans, he offers a brief, cursory faux smile to the thin air. His faux British accent is a cross between Charles Laughton and Roddy McDowall impressions and makes Richard into such a detached dandy that we cannot possibly accept that he would be able to sway anyone in the court into his confidence to do his bidding, let alone that he would be able to woo his way into the bedchamber of Lady Anne."
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Dennis Polkow
Windy City Times- Not Recommended
"...Equally baffling is the inclusion of generic head-banger rock into the proceedings. We know the crucial Battle of Bosworth is at hand because the sound design starts sounding like a Sons of Osiris cover band. Instead of simply telling the story and giving us a multilayered, monstrously charismatic antihero, Gaines overwhelms the stage with special effects, eye-popping costumes and cinematic lighting. But strip the show of its bells and whistles and million-dollar production values, and you'll find little semblance of a compelling central character. The emperor, or the King, as it were, has no clothes."
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Catey Sullivan
Chicago Free Press- Recommended
"...Barbara Gaines’ shock-worthy revival features an epicene Wallace Acton as the master inveigler, slyly taking the audience in with a confessional of crimes to come to which he is horrifically consistent. (Considerately, Richard deceives everyone but us, his enablers.) Acton’s outsized evil is energy enough to earn its own brilliant backlash as Richard’s many victims denounce him alive and from the grave. The most memorable accusers are the women, especially Mary Ann Thebus as Richard’s guilt-ridden mother, Wendy Robie as his much-wronged sister-in-law, Angela Ingersoll as his easily discarded wife, and, most memorably, Jennifer Harmon as Henry VI’s wrathful widow. If curses curdle, these do."
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Lawrence Bommer
Copley News Service- Highly Recommended
"...The Chicago Shakespeare Theater presentation of “Richard III” has it all, starting with Wallace Acton in the title role. The CST recruited Acton from Washington, D.C., and he is brilliant. In the first two scenes, Acton establishes his credentials for the role by rendering Richard in all his diabolical villainy. He’s clever, charming, intelligent, and a lip-smacking personification of evil, taking the audience into his confidence in his opening monologue and allowing us to tag along on his murderous ascent to the crown of England."
Dan Zeff
Centerstage- Highly Recommended
"...Structured by the contrast between Richard's frenetic energy and the increasingly stony helplessness of the women of his court, Chicago Shakespeare's "Richard III" is a lively and moving portrayal of great wickedness and its terrible consequences."
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Laura Kolb
Chicago Theater Blog- Highly Recommended
"...In the capable hands of Artistic Director Barbara Gaines, Richard III once again works its magic of simultaneous attraction and revulsion. Briskly paced and sensibly edited, this "Richard III" is relentless in its march towards its anti-hero’s tragic, self-inflicted destiny."
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Richard Millward
Edge- Recommended
"...Emphasis on the titular character is hardly surprising: Shakespeare’s libelous portrait of Richard was far from the first, but it’s certainly the most delicious. Under Gaines’ direction, Wallace Acton’s Richard well and truly tests the limits of charisma in his CST debut. From the well-worn opening line, Acton is relentlessly arch, surprisingly antic, and totally shameless."
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Christine Malcom
ChicagoCritic- Highly Recommended
"...The cast was respectful of the material, spot-on performers with a most eloquent delivery of Shakespeare’s fluid language. The stage combat (by Robin H. McFarquhar) was thrilling. Neil Patel’s black set and Robert Wierzel’s lighting aptly set the dark mood of the show. As usual, Chicago Shakespeare Theater delivers a smart, well-paced and proficient production of The Bard’s first stage success. This is a world-class production."
Tom Williams
Steadstyle Chicago- Highly Recommended
"...This production is directed by Barbara Gaines, the Artistic Director of CST, and one can see her love and adoration of this play through the direction she has taken. There is no real set and the stage is composed of several levels that appear to be black and Lucite. The backdrop also is black with one spot of white and another scene with red curtains used. In fact until the ghost scene, which in itself is worth the price of admission along with the fight sequence (a marvel with fight choreography by Robin H. McFarquhar), we are watching the action on a bare or almost bare stage. This allows the action and words to be absorbed better by the audience and I found it very special."
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Al Bresloff
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