The Snow Queen at Filament Theatre

Time Out Chicago - Recommended

"...Libonati and puppet designer Jeff Semmerling's bag of tricks include an audience-aided snow storm, a to-scale reindeer puppet, cloth rivers, paper rose gardens, and rope acrobatic work. It's all a little twee for the older kids that were at the matinee I attended, but for young children, it's a sprinkling of magic in which brutal winter finally gets some comeuppance."

Chicago Theatre Addict - Highly Recommended

"...Under Allega Libonati’s resourceful and grounded direction, this production fully engaged my inner kid. Thoughtful use of puppets and masks (designed by master mask maker Jeff Semmerling, whose studio is just a few floors above Filament’s new space) add a dash of whimsy without sacrificing story. And at 60 minutes running time, the young audience’s attention span never wavered."

ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended

"...To see The Snow Queen is to see what a troupe of dedicated to their art can achieve on stage. The Snow Queen, adapted from the Hans Christian Andersen diary tale by Tyler J. Monroe is the story of how the Snow Queen (Lindsey Dorcus) has the evil Goblin (Andrew Marchetti) shatter her mirror that reflects view of the world. some of the broken glass falls upon Kai (Christian Libonati) rendering him gloom and unloving. His girlfriend Gerda (Mara Dale) tries to get Kai back to his old loving self but Kai disappears into the world of ice and snow as he is smitten by the lure of the snow Queen."

Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...What this young and imaginative company has done is created a wonderful story with puppetry (Jeff Semmerling) that appeals to the kids as well as the adults ( who bring the kids) as they tell the story of two young people, a boy , Kai ( a marvelous character developed by Christian Libonati) and a girl, Gerda ( deftly handled by Mara Dale) who are separated by magic and then by even greater magic ( the magic of friendship, love and truth) find each other once again, and despite all odds, and obstacles find that true honesty with those we love is the greatest gift of all."