The America Play at Oracle Theatre

Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended

"...It's elliptical, confounding and often very funny - particularly in Delgado's stellar turn and his interactions with a gallery of "visitors," all played by Rory Jobst and Havalah Grace, who repeatedly enter, drop a penny in a bucket, and then "shoot" the faux Lincoln. Are they enacting our own barely submerged racial prejudices, or simply enjoying the opportunity to be a part of "reconstructed historicities"? What do we dig up? What do we leave behind? Who owns the detritus of history?"

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...Parks lets this kind of smart juxtaposition do the talking throughout the play's uninterrupted 80 minutes, which here are filled to the brim with a beautiful staging from Vanessa Stalling, a former Redmoon associate artistic director who previously directed that company's successful revival of the moody and brilliant The Cabinet. Stalling's use of sound and color perfectly accentuates the show's acting, especially Travis Delgado as the impersonator, who with his very index finger summons a John Wilkes Booth so lifelike you'd swear you were back in 1865. Sic semper tyrannis indeed."

Stage and Cinema - Recommended

"...Fluid and elusive, Delgado's faux trickster is an intricately camouflaged "Lincoln." He's an enigma compared to the much more straightforward searchers depicted by Turner and Santiago as his bewildered loved ones. Despite its all-encompassing title, The America Play is a very intimate chamber piece about race as a lens for "historicity." It all happens on a sloping stage with a grave at audience eye level. There little happens but much gets said about a lost legacy. It's clever of Lori-Parks, who says she likes to combine a "joke" with the "yoke" of Africa-American ancestry, to turn seminal turning points into sardonic vaudeville: Her two-way spoof inevitably indicts our notions of national greatness and historical significance. That's what Oracle does best. Vanesa Stalling's staging is no exception."

ChicagoCritic - Recommended

"...Director Vanessa Stallings presents the material with the right playful, but thoughtful, tone for absurdism. James V. Ogden's simple, but surprise-laden scenic design is one of the best I've seen at Oracle, and Joan Pritchard's costumes bring the spectacle to a work about turning history into dramatic images and brief soundbytes. The question is, does a nearly actionless existential musing on history told through an ironic African-American vernacular interest you? I was intrigued enough by the production to read the The America Play afterwards, and found the reflection and repetition drastically improved my experience. Oracle has a very loyal audience of people who are highly educated in the philosophy of history and dramatic theory. They will probably be pleased with this latest offering. To everyone else, I hope this review provided a bit of context and preparation."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Somewhat Recommended

"...As a company with a strong social core and a commitment to bringing art to everyone, I would encourage anyone still curious to attend The America Play as you risk very little in doing so. Your reward will be supporting a company that missed their mark this time around but did so with the very best of intentions."