Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...Dawkins is a writer of wit and an apt voice for Williams. The play is often funny; Williams devotees will feel like their idol is known. But those nuances, the flavor of the counterintuitive, the messy, the complex, are what is missing here and they are what the play will need to acquire in order to succeed in New York. And a more intensified focus on truth is what one hopes Estle will bring to Raven, a North Side theater with a long and distinguished history that includes works by both of these great American writers."
Chicago Sun Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...But despite intermittently interesting themes and clever lines (Galvan’s Williams produces a steady barrage of off-color quips), as well as pleasing design work and the noble efforts of the actors and director Cody Estle to craft beats and transitions within the two elongated scenes, “The Gentleman Caller” never finds forward momentum."
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...But director Cody Estle's Raven Theatre debut navigates the latter territory far less easily than the former. In part, I suspect that's because the emotional arc of the play is significantly shorter than its nearly two-and-a-half-hour run time, which is filled out by a dramaturgical smorgasbord of musings about sacrifice and criticism both past and present."
Windy City Times - Highly Recommended
"...Decorating his script with glorious bits of humor, Dawkins undercuts the self-loathing of Inge and the drunken follies of Williams with poetic monologues that examine the circumstances of their most intimate desires and their deep-rooted fears. Inge's childhood remembrance of the torturous cruelties of some small town boys, in particular, is hauntingly beautiful and compellingly grotesque. Nicely, as the year in the play turns to 1945, Williams' remark that "the future is here" seems a hopeful foreshadowing to our present day when most of our young gay men can be themselves without having to hide behind whiskey bottles and twisted regret."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Of course, the brilliance of Dawkins’s script wouldn’t be much without a brilliant production to match it. Luckily director Cody Estle, in his inaugural production as Raven Theatre’s new artistic director, has delivered. (It’s also the theater’s first-ever commission. Bravo.) The same can be said of Galvan and Jackson, whose chemistry onstage achieves a slow burn, a fast burn, and every speed of burn in between. It’s a wonder they don’t set the room on fire."
Stage and Cinema - Highly Recommended
"...The work of a sweetly kindred artist, The Gentleman Caller is a very eligible suitor for any audience. Nothing is more enthralling than when theater blesses theater. It’s happening right now on Clark Street."
WTTW - Highly Recommended
"...Williams (not surprisingly, the driving force in the play) is the exhibitionistic Dionysian spirit; Inge is the puritan. Yet as different as the two men might be on the surface they share many things, including their stifling Midwest upbringings, their sense of always being outsiders, their heavy dependence on alcohol, their hunger for love, their need to write (and, as Williams puts it, hear the song of the nightingale) and a certain twined terror of both failure and success."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Staged within Jeffrey D. Kmiec’s beautifully detailed, yet versatile scenic design, with period props and elaborate set dressing furnished by Claire Stone, nicely lit by Michelle E. Benda and featuring an authentic sound design by Kevin O’Donnell, Cody Estle’s world premiere of Philip Dawkins’ new biographical drama should not be missed. It’s that good. The outstanding portrayals of Williams and Inge, two incredibly gifted American playwrights, by a pair of incredibly introspective Chicago actors, is breathtaking and heartbreaking. Dawkins’ fictional account of their imagined meeting of the minds, along with all the sexual and artistic implications of their alcohol-fueled evenings together, feel honest and possible. The colored light illumination, provided by Tennessee Williams’ memory and imagination, are all that stand between reality and fiction."
Third Coast Review - Highly Recommended
"...I have seen Rudy Galvan play supporting roles many times and admired his work, but this is the first time I’ve seen him play a leading role. It was revelatory to see this actor become Tennessee Williams, with his mustache, sly smile, sexy manner and wicked sense of humor. Galvan gives an extraordinary performance. Jackson’s performance is strong and poignant, although his character is subdued and less colorful than Williams."
Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended
"...The Gentleman Caller is a beautiful piece of work. Its examination of two of America's most lyrical playwrights is itself poetic and artful; one can hear echoes of both real men's plays in the words the characters speak. Knowing the playwrights does help, but it isn't by any means necessary; Dawkins provides all of the needed background within the script. But he doesn't allow the play to become bogged down by the elegance of its lines; rather, he couches everything in (often dark) humor as he allows his creations to find each other or just miss the chance. Don't miss the chance to see this play, which is already more than half sold out for its already-extended run. It's a remarkable work about remarkable classic playwrights from a pretty remarkable Chicago playwright."
Picture This Post - Highly Recommended
"...Galvan and Jackson rise to the occasion of bringing these famous, yet somewhat mysterious playwrights to life. As successful as both playwrights became, they both took their own lives, and the two actors fill Dawkins' speculation on those negative feelings with brutal honesty. Jackson highlights the overwhelming anxiety of Inge as he struggles to come to terms with his desires - both artistically as a playwright, and personally in regard to his sexuality. Galvan on the other hand with his lovely comedic timing emphasizes the smooth nature of this Tennessee Williams, with the ability to sweet talk anyone that also creates the perfect mask for his insecurities. Together, their stage chemistry is brilliant, and the arc of the relationship that Estle helps them build is heartbreaking."
Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended
"...The Gentleman Caller is witty, engaging, sexy, romantic, and dark in a tapestry of tones and text that is bursting at the seams with complex ideas and beautiful storytelling. It's no wonder this production has already been extended; it would be a shame not to offer it to as many audience members as possible."
NewCity Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"..."The Gentlemen Caller" is a lovely play, though not without its faults. The direction is choppy, the pacing is off, and the sound design in particular is pretty rough (it overwhelms and distracts from what could have been deeply poignant moments but for frequent tinny underscoring). Like most shows at Raven Theatre, it's language-heavy, plot-light, and emotionally fraught. But Dawkin's is the kind of writer whose words can transcend almost anything. He's a poet and a visionary. His plays ring deeply personal and exquisitely vulnerable and "The Gentlemen Caller" is no exception."
