Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...The piece is generally very well-acted, with Vander Broek, playing the author's most sympathetic character, bursting with so much heart, energy and vitality that you intuit what this woman could have achieved with more opportunity outside of Kevin Depinet's period-specific Wisconsin home setting. Chamberlain is similarly moving, and the supporting actors all feel similarly authentic, with Reed doing her considerable best to focus on the cracks in the steel of her mostly malevolent character. Life as it lived in small Midwestern towns should be explored at a theater like the Goodman in the Midwestern capitol, and the combination of Falls and Gilman has a distinguished history thereof."
Chicago Sun Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...No question about it: Playwright Rebecca Gilman has her antennae tuned to the issues of this moment, even if her 2014 play, "Soups, Stews and Casseroles: 1976," now in its Chicago premiere at the Goodman Theatre, is set four decades ago, and its characters still hold fast to certain 1950s values. Gilman, who has dealt with such matters as religious fundamentalism (in "Luna Gale") and "Blue Surge" (about the blue "code of silence" among police officers), also brings to these issues the fervor of a latter-day Clifford Odets. But while her heart is in the right place (and no doubt at odds with some of the Goodman's wealthy funders and audience members), her storytelling can feel more heavily contrived than organic. This is certainly the case with "Soups, Stews and Casseroles," which has its share of fiery scenes, but too often comes with a television drama predictability."
Daily Herald - Recommended
"..."Soups, Stews, and Casseroles: 1976" moves along at a slow simmer, when Gilman and director Robert Falls could have injected more tense conflicts and outbursts. But the comic detail and quiet dilemmas allow audiences to fit more comfortably in the Durst family's shoes as they weigh whether to get ahead at the expense of their neighbors -- or stand with them."
Windy City Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...So what's missing? Kim passionately defends his promotion and upward mobility, but has no equivalent passion about the farm values which nurtured him, or the farm's emotional meaning to him. Because that piece is missing, the play's precipitous conclusion rings false. The play's two opposing philosophies are clear upon reflection, but one receives far more weight and flash than the other, and the balance needs to be better."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...But the main takeaway from Gilman's moral setup-that good people will do the right thing and bad people are unhappy-wouldn't pass muster at the debate tournament that provides Kat and Kim's teenage daughter Kelly (Lindsay Stock) with her progressive awakening. Soups, Stews, and Casseroles is probably good for you, but the broth is a little thin."
Stage and Cinema - Recommended
"...Initially, Gilman's surprisingly down-to-earth drama may seem schematic and formulaic as it triggers predictable conflicts in a far from paradisiacal small town. But by play's end it puts a moral dilemma centerstage: Forced to commit, an audience must pick who-and what-they stand for. No small breakthrough, Goodman Theatre delivers a drama that's more intent on challenging than pleasing its patrons."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...Playwright Rebecca Gilman sees all these things as connected, and lays them out in her 2014 play Soups, Stews, and Casseroles: 1976. The show debuted in St. Louis two years ago, but is now being directed in Chicago for the first time by Goodman artistic director and Gilman's long-time collaborator Bob Falls. Though there's little in the play that's revelatory, this examination of a working family in a small town under siege by a conglomerate does contain true-to-life nuance, until the playwright makes a false move in the final scene. Up until then, its reflection of vital economic issues to the rural Midwest commands the audience's attention."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...When I read the press release that The Goodman will be featuring a Rebecca Gilman play, I know that I will be in for a solid story. At this time, they are presenting their eighth Gilman play, "Soups, Stews, and Casseroles: 1976", in its Chicago premiere. The title is one that can be interpreted in several ways, but in fact does not truly tell us the tale that Gilman has written. The year of the play is 1976, so that part is accurate. It is the Bi-Centennial and we are in Reynolds Wisconsin, a dairy city at a special time in our history."
Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended
"...This isn't one of Gilman's most exciting plays. While pleasantly entertaining, it moves along just a little too leisurely to be any more than interesting; and many of the plot twists can be seen coming a mile away. Still the talented cast, led by Cliff Chamberlain as Kim, Cora VanderBroek as Kat and Ty Olwin as Kyle (providing the only real sparks of excitement in this story) are all very good. Angela Reed is an interesting, seductive Elaine, while Lindsay Stock does well playing a typical teenager testing the waters and challenging everyone at every turn. Ann Whitney is especially excellent and brings gravitas and sagely advice as JoAnne. This play is a blast from the past that reminds its audiences of some of the background for how we became the way we are today. It's a look at the way we were."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Recommended
"..."Soups, Stews, and Casseroles: 1976" opened in 2014 and this is the show's second production. Gilman might want to rethink the play's abrupt ending and the sensual encounter between Kit and Elaine. The arguments about work rules sound four decades old and don't have the flashpoint relevance they did in the 1970's (though Wisconsin's labor-management conflicts did set off some national sparks a few months ago). "Soups,..." places the audience in the company of a small group of entertaining characters, each displayed with spot-on accuracy by the fine cast. Not the greatest of Gilman's plays but still an honorable entry in her extensive canon."
The Fourth Walsh - Somewhat Recommended
"...Despite feeling the attack-on-the-union plot was predictable and pedestrian, I did enjoy the dynamic between Gilman's female characters. Under the direction of Robert Falls, we watch Cora Vander Broek (Kat) get swept off her feet by town newcomer Angela Reed (Elaine). The vivacious Reed infiltrates Vander Broek's cozy recipe clique. The cantankerous Ann Whitney (JoAnne) immediately dislikes Reed's domineering presence. The interactions have a mean-girls-turned-women spirit. Even daughter Lindsay Stock (Kelly) is initially wooed by Reed. The friendships, new and old, seem legit. These ladies bond and fall out with authentic excitement and annoyance."
