Stage Door presented by Griffin Theatre Company at Stage 773

Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended

"...It's all quite deliciously meta-theatrical. You stare out at all the very talented young women that Witt has amusingly arranged around the Footlights hotel and ponder the forces that make it possible for Witt to find some two dozen capable Chicago actresses to do this show for (I'll venture) very little money. You're not quite sure whether to unreservedly celebrate that unique aspect of our off-Loop scene or feel sorry for these skilled stage actors and aggrieved at a profession wherein so much work and ability nets so little reward."

Chicago Sun Times - Recommended

"...It’s all here: The desperate quest for access to the best agents and auditions; the sudden closing of a show that should have been a meal ticket for months; the opportunistic romances; the emotional breakdowns; the mix of idealism and cynicism. One girl is running away from a bad marriage, while another is heading back to the Midwest to be wed. One girl has a rich mother while others work as salesgirls."

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...Side stories--including that of a woman fleeing her well-to-do, abusive husband--have their fascinations, too. Robin Witt's Griffin Theatre production is too slack to be satisfying, but the outlines are there and Stacie Barra, Christina Gorman, and Ashley Neal are fun in comic roles."

Time Out Chicago - Recommended

"... Witt does an impressive job of corralling this unwieldy beast, and Griffin’s engaged so many of the city’s talented young actresses that you begin to wonder how any other theater has a show running right now. If some of the less-defined roles become hard to keep straight, Mechelle Moe, as chief wanna-be Terry Randall, crafts a character who’s, depending on your view of actors, either admirably committed or unbearably self-righteous. That’s the theater, all right."

ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended

"...Griffin Theatre Company’s outstanding cast makes the case that ‘real’ acting can only happen on the stage. See this wondrously moving show and you’ll agree. Stage Door is fabulous - one of the finest shows in many a year! We need more theatre companies to have the chutzpah to produce classic theatre that still has relevance and audience appeal. See this show and support classic theatre. It is important that we revive the classics for each new generation. Every actor and aspiring actor needs to see Stage Door. It could be a reaffirming life experience for them."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended

"...The large cast is filled with delicious young ladies and their landlady (Mary Anne Bowman) who at one time was an actress herself, but evidently never made it.  Thus she knows the trials and tribulations that each of her girls is experiencing.  The major men in this play are Keith Burgess (Jeremy Fisher), a playwright with strong ideals who ends up going Hollywood and leaving Terry behind, and David Kingsley (James D. Farruggio), a movie mogul who still loves theater and ends up going the other direction and bringing Terry with him.  Both of these actors brought the right touch and feel to the stage with Farruggio being more into the time period characterization.  Dwayne Taylor takes on the role of Adolph Gretzl , a major producer as well as Terry's dad.  I found that this to be a bit awkward as both of his scenes are played with the same actress and despite the dim lights of the second scene, it was obvious that he was the same man.  This is probably the only fault I saw in an otherwise perfect production.  I tip my hat to each and every performer in this play, far too many to mention in the space allotted."

Chicago Theater Beat - Highly Recommended

"...Stage Door was the basis of the 1937 film of the same name, but the movie’s plot bears little similarity to this delicious play (which seems rather a meta-joke in itself). Don’t miss this rarely performed gem."