The Jewels presented by TUTA Theatre Chicago at Storefront Theater

Chicago Tribune - Recommended

"...Aileen McGroddy's choreography - particularly for the dance where Rene and Emily first meet - Thomas Dixon's evocative sound design and Keith Parham's spare but eye-catching production design (heavy on light-and-dark contrast) help turn the show into a dream ballet about marriage. If the reality doesn't match the dream, well, as Emily says of the Eiffel Tower (an edifice de Maupassant publicly protested), "I like to think more of our reach than our view.""

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...The tale offers a wonderfully ambiguous gloss on the notion that ignorance is bliss, and adapter-director Kirk Anderson does a mostly masterful job of filling it out for the stage (although a poetic interpolation involving a girl and a bird falls flat). Anderson's stylized staging is swift and clear, and his leads—Layne Manzer as Rene, Carolyn Molloy as Emily—are so sweetly matched it's tragic. "

Centerstage - Somewhat Recommended

"...TUTA’s ensemble illustrates this story with their usual blend of beauty, humor, song, and strong ensemble work. It’s well done theater, and particularly elegantly enveloped by Wain Parham’s sound design. But there were some elements of the story that left me at loose ends; I recall leaving the theater thinking that I had seen something akin to a Joseph Cornell shadowbox that was not quite complete yet. All the pieces were interesting, lovely to watch, and well made, but never quite coalesced into a greater whole for me."

Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...Anderson's staging contains striking touches of visual and aural surprise; a terrifically whimsical touch is the outfitting of ensemble members with tape decks to create an immersive soundscape of city life. An interpolated fable about a bird with a broken wing (Dave Belden) and the girl who rescues him (Lauren Demerath) reflects Anderson’s interpretation of the central relationship but feels out of place. But Manzer and Molloy craft compelling, sympathetic central performances, leaving admirably open the question of what makes love virtuous."

Theatre By Numbers - Highly Recommended

"...I enjoyed the tale as told by TUTA.  Had I not read the short story, and just taken the play at its face value, I would have been very pleased with what I saw.  After making the comparison to the original, I come away feeling exactly the same way.  I saw a great play, that stands on its own merits.  In fact, its additions and adaptations greatly improve on a short story that is mostly forgettable in the original French.  Here’s to elevating a piece to something new and better!"

Stage and Cinema - Recommended

"...Now playing at Chicago’s downtown Storefront Theatre, The Jewels, TUTA Theatre’s world premiere adaptation of a story by Guy de Maupassant, is not to be confused with The Necklace, the masterpiece by this “French Chekhov” (or “French O. Henry” for that matter). That gem from 1884, with its bittersweet twist of an ending, is La Parure, the story of a vain woman who destroys her life to replace her loss of the title bauble, lent to her by a frivolous rich lady. Only when she’s virtually a bag lady in a Parisian park does the once vainglorious woman discover that the necklace was paste all along."