Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...In "Soul Brother, Where Art Thou?" - the well-stocked new revue at the Second City e.t.c. - the actor Eddie Mujica actually plays an emotionally manipulative iPhone who has a difficult conversation with his owner about preferring not to be turned off at any point, and certainly never forced merely to vibrate. In another moment, the apparent sudden death of a precious Apple product results in a New Orleans-style funeral for the device. There is a quick-fire noting of that most hellish of workplace mistakes: accidentally hitting "reply all." And then there is the baring of the heart, the go-for-broke declaration: "I love you more than Netflix.""
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...Despite its Afrocentric title, "Soul Brother, Where Art Thou?" is more MSNBC than BET, flitting from issue to issue and examining each with a progressive bent. The new revue at Second City's e.t.c. space relies on a dynamic cast and some effective stagecraft to make up for premises that don't always pan out."
Chicago Reader - Recommended
"...If the goal was to capture the tenor of the times, the players have pretty much done it, and not just because they include a lot of jokes about smartphones (the best: a New Orleans–style funeral, complete with umbrellas and a trombonist playing "Just a Closer Walk With Thee," in honor of a commuter's cracked iPhone). It's scary out there, the show acknowledges, and the screens we've surrounded ourselves with only make us feel more alone. What we really want is to be comforted and understood and assured that it's all gonna be OK. In their goofy, goodhearted way, the cast even oblige us there, ending the show with a campfire sing-along to an original ballad by music director Alex Kliner, called "Hold On.""
Chicago Stage Review - Recommended
"...The Second City e.t.c.'s thirty-ninth revue, Soul Brother, Where Art Thou? is terrific - well written, well performed, well directed, and funny. This cast is a team of future hall-of-famers, who, when allowed to choose their own lineup of opponents, could have taken on a few more heavy hitters."
Gapers Block - Highly Recommended
"...Usually, the Mainstage Theater is where you go for a quintessential Second City experience with the ensemble's "varsity team" of seasoned veterans. Currently, it's home to Panic on Cloud 9, a perfectly serviceable two hours of comedy. However, the best sketch show of 2015 is actually in the E.T.C. Theater, where the ostensible "JV team" is knocking it out of the park in their 39th revue, Soul Brother, Where Art Thou?."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Barreca, who so confidently rides the razor’s edge between bubbly and deranged, shines in a musical number whose refrain, “I will follow you,” slides from romantic promise to stalkerish vow. And a goofy teleportation sketch that involves the whole cast allows the actors to winningly poke fun at one another, with gentle jabs at Ryder’s long legs (“These seem unreasonable!”) or referring to Barreca’s platinum-blonde look as “’90s Gwen Stefani.” The terrifically precise, relatively wee Mujica gets described in Soul Brother as both “nightmarishly frail and ethnically ambiguous” and “like a fourth-grader who escaped from the field trip.”"
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...Like the revue's title, a lot here falls just short of being gut-bustingly, rib-ticklingly funny. But, almost as psychic compensation, little stinks to high heaven. Middling mockery seems to fit the times and e.t.c. delivers some conditionally hysterical goods."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...Scenes like the Keystone Cops silent film and the time machine demonstrate the skills of this cast. The bit that has a Christian bookstore clerk denying service to an atheist was a hoot as was Eddie Mujica physically playing a mobile phone running out of power. This two hour laugh fest works nicely for the targeted audience. I saw a family of high schoolers who seemed to enjoy the revue. The Second City keeps their fine comic aplomb and strong production values fresh and professional. This troupe offers one of the finest night-outs for couples, groups and families (of older teens). This is a good-time destination filled with honest, raw humor with stinging contemporary references."
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"...Do not let the title of their 39th revue fool you or scare you away. I am not sure if it means anything at all. The show is, as all others, a comic look at some portions of our lives. This romp explores high technology, online dating, reflection (this is one of those get the audience involved sketches), golf, racial tension, memory (they use 9-11 for this one and while there are a few cute lines, I would prefer this event not being treated as a comedy topic), and much much more."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"..."Soul Brother, Where Art Thou?" may assault some touchy subjects but it is not an angry or mean spirited show. The production doesn't take huge risks, with maybe the exception of the 9/11 bit. But the show does keep its fingers skeptically on society's pulse up to the minute and the audience greeted the immediacy of many of the bits with gleeful recognition. Overall, there were only few home runs in the parade of sketches, like of Beasley's racial rap, but the company hit lots of doubles and triples, and I detected no strikeouts. This is a show worth repeat visits, if only to see if the ensemble catches lightning in the bottle in their improvs like they did on opening night."
The Fourth Walsh - Highly Recommended
"...This superb cast and crew have honed this tight group of sketches and songs to a sharp, glimmering must-see night of comedy and theater and have delivered a stunning reminder of what Second City represents to Chicago comedy and theater. The very best. "
