The Duchess of Malfi Reviews
Chicago Tribune- Recommended
"...The most important fulcrum here is Kevin Cox as Bosoloa, the servant placed in the duchess' home (tellingly, she has no name aside from her title) to spy on her, and to eventually betray her. It's a layered and complicated part despite the bloodshed, and Cox plays it without pandering for our pity or begging for understanding. Bosoloa goes through a moral transformation, but too late for it to be of any real use. It's as if Anton Chigurh from "No Country for Old Men" decided to seek penance, only to find that there is no one left to hear his confession."
Chicago Reader- Somewhat Recommended
"...Director Christopher Marino pushes these guys forward while the duchess gets treated like a sexed-up teenager in a horror movie. Unfair as that strategy sounds, it leads to some striking moments—especially when we're watching Casey Chapman's tyrant descend from powder-faced aesthete to incestuous, necrophilic wolfman (really!). Overall, though, Marino has trouble controlling the tone, with the result that the play too often comes across as a cartoon rather than a nightmare."
ChicagoCritic- Recommended
"...Though I wound up enjoying this production’s first act more than its second, John Webster’s language, and especially his concluding couplets, are a delight throughout. “Though Lust do mask in ne’er so strange disguise, she’s oft found witty, but is never wise,” is the kind of line which gives actors permission to chew the scenery, and Trap Door’s cast has fun with it."
The Fourth Walsh- Somewhat Recommended
"...Casey Chapman's Ferdinand, clad in all white with bleached, slicked-back hair (think Thin White Duke-era Bowie), makes a stunning first impression as the evil aristocrat. Ferdinand's simmering anger and explosive rage are two of the primary fuel sources powering Duchess. It's to Chapman's credit that this doesn't get monotonous and the dark, mysterious mood he's able to project seems essential tonally for what director Christopher Marino is aiming for with this production."
NewCity Chicago- Recommended
"...This cast is appetizing, porn-ready, sex-on-a-platter. Rachel Sypniewski's amatory costumes sometimes cover some things. Marino disdains any presentation of the sixteenth century's emotional repression. Every sentiment is as disrobed as its source. It is a daring choice, not to everyone's taste. But this piece screams for a choice, and then blind fealty. What a hearty, satanic stew is here cooked."