The Bloodhound Law at City Lit Theater

Edge - Recommended

"...City Lit Theater closes both its 35th season and its five-year Civil War Sesquicentennial Project with Kristine Thatcher's "The Bloodhound Law." Thatcher's exploration of the abolitionist struggle in Missouri and Illinois is an elegant, almost impressionistic collection of scenes that lets the drama of the events speak for itself. City Lit's production, under the direction of Terry McCabe, is rough around the edges in some ways, but ultimately does well by the challenging, powerful material."

Stage and Cinema - Recommended

"...Given so much expository material, there are some wooden moments where declamation replaces eloquence. But overall The Bloodhound Law is an invaluable chronicle of a turbulent time not unlike the present. In time the Defense of Marriage Act will seem as antiquated as the Fugitive Slave Act: It always helps when the past puts the present in perspective."

ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended

"...The Bloodhound Law needs to be seen by high school and college students so that they can learn why citizens and government can go too far in not protecting basic human rights. It was slavery in the mid 1800’s; today its the poor plus the rights of gays. I can hope that enlightened school administrators will book their classes to see this important City Lit production. Steppenwolf for Young Adults should re-mount this show next season."

NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...City Lit regularly produces adaptations of literary works, making this type of project particular to their province, and their team's steady hand is very much in evidence. Director Terry McCabe wisely keeps his nine actors onstage throughout, giving them the freedom to rise from their seats, don a hat or a vest, and undertake another of the multiple characters assigned to all without the shuffling of entrances and exits. Liz Cooper's lighting design keeps the focus of the narrative distinct, and dialect coach Catherine Gillespie succeeds with a yeoman's assignment of forty-two characters."