Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...The performances alone carry the day, and in director Kathy Scambiatterra’s spritely but overlong staging for Artistic Home, they’re mostly delightful, and none more so than Brookelyn Hebert’s unimpeachable Eliante. She’s mouse, lion, virgin, slattern, doormat and dominatrix in equally intoxicating doses."
Windy City Times - Recommended
"...It's not often that actors under Kathy Scambiaterra's direction are permitted to stray from the text-focused approach to performance that is the Artistic Home's hallmark, but no one can deny the perspiration worked up by the enthusiastic ensemble, however nebulous its inspiration. If you are inclined to giggle at a ribbon-bedecked slacker named Clitander ( played with heroic concentration by Ted James ) repeatedly addressed by his peers as "Clitoris," this is your perfect low-stress, no-homework, warm-weather entertainment."
Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...Scambiatterra chooses to stage the show in the round, a decision that works against the material. The style of classic comedy calls for sharp beats, pointed barbs, and a clean stage picture—all elements left by the wayside when staging in the round. As such, the action feels muddy, the comedic edge blunted. The cast is game, but in many cases their enthusiasm leads to imprecision—especially in their blocking, since they keep having to move about for the sake of sight lines. The play is, admittedly, a poor fit for the Chicago storefront style, although the thrift-store diva stylings of Zachery Wagner’s costumes add an edgy, punk rock feel to everything. Despite Ives’s more modern styling, his comedy’s old-fashioned DNA cannot be denied."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...The School for Lies is a rousing smart farce filled with funny moments, physicality as well as unique use of rhyming couplets. Julian hester and Mark Pracht, demonstrate their comic acumen. The entire cast is committed and seem to be having a good time playing those silly characters. Just sit back at let these players take you back to 1666 while utilizing contemporary language in rhyming couplets. This show can be fun!"
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...The acting itself was on point, with hardly a beat skipped. It’s easy to tell which plays afforded themselves enough time to get even the minute details down hard, and the interactions, mannerisms, and slapstick humor of every character was charmingly grand at worst. The fact that the story was not only well-written, but also had a fantastic twist, certainly added to it. And while there are more original plays, with more to say about the modern man and woman, The School for Lies nevertheless comments on our society in its own way."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...I loved The Artistic Home's production of "The School for Lies", a modern satire done in period costumes. Moliere might be rolling over in his grave, but David Ives' adaptation of "The Misanthrope" is brilliant - and he wrote it in iambic pentameter! "The School for Lies" is also a bawdy farce about people in an improbable situation, chock full of sophisticated word play, physical humor, pratfalls, disguises, mistaken identities and repeating gags. Kudos to Director Kathy Scambiattera and her cast for a very funny production."
Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended
"...In David Ives’ contemporary adaptation of Moliere’s “The Misanthrope,” we get a parody of a period comedy, but filled with much topical adult humor. It’s modern, yet also faithful to the style of the best French plays from the mid-1600’s. Written in a relentless, often hilarious iambic pentameter verse, the play sometimes has a Dr. Seuss-like quality to its comedy. All the characters, as well as the situations, are over-the-top and, except for a few swallowed lines here and there, this is a delightfully loquacious, chatty, catty and frivolous way to spend a summer evening in the theatre."
Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended
"...Everything in The School for Lies is anchored in musicality – the language, the movement and the plot’s constant back-and-forth cat-and-mouse games of sexual pursuit. Director Kathy Scambiatterra has a canny ear for Ives’ rapid-fire zingers, and her cast deploys them like expertly aimed arrows. This is a show where the blocking is as rhythmic as the language, right down to a tango that’s a hilariously apt vertical expression of the horizontal desire."
PlaylistHQ - Highly Recommended
"...The acting is superb. Everyone makes their characters larger than life and very interesting. They speak the verses with a poetic flair and talent that makes this production a work of art."
The Hawk Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Overall, The School for Lies is a fantastic production which expertly blends together comedy and drama for an incredibly engaging experience. Excellent dialogue paired with captivating performances and a deft use of anachronisms makes the price of admission definitely worthwhile."
Picture This Post - Highly Recommended
"...With a cast this strong, it is difficult to single any one actor out among the ensemble. Mark Pracht is the embodiment of misanthropy with his portrayal of Frank. Never has hatred of humanity been so utterly hilarious and relatable. Annie Hogan is a worthy adversary with her embodiment of the widow Celimene. Not only is her comedic timing impeccable but her rhythm of speaking and movement work so well together you'll believe she speaks in verse all the time. Brookelyn Hebert is enchanting as the seemingly sweet yet deceptively feisty Eliante. She transforms at the drop of a hat and is beyond charming and a force to reckoned with. Julian Hester is completely adorable and funny. His knack for comedy and natural approach to the ridiculous nature of the play is extraordinary and a complete joy."
NewCity Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...For some reason, perhaps because a flash sale on sequins has made shiny things too common, Celimene, her chaste cousin Eliante (Brookelyn Hebert), and her clown-faced rival Arsinoe (Devon Carson) are immediately besotted with the grump. Were it not for this fly in the ointment, this raisin in the confection, this wart on the pedicure, Ives' play might have been the pastel pastry party interrupted by down-low rap gossip sessions you didn't know you pined for."
