Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...seeing Melissa James Gibson's "This" on the night the United Kingdom voted to divorce from the European Union set up some unavoidable parallels, though the only semipolitical element is a handsome French physician employed by Doctors Without Borders. But it embodies inchoate resentment about paths not taken and the tired funk that accompanies anyone for whom the promising bloom of youth is receding in the rearview mirror. We all have momentary weaknesses where we think, "What if I just walk away from my life?""
Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Gibson gives a lot of grown-up concepts (waning marital sex drives, post-30s bachelorhood, adultery) the Neil Simon treatment via a lot of light zingers. Even in Windy City Playhouse's well-acted production, though, director Carl Menninger's cast has trouble working its way up to the climactic, hard-to-justify images that the show hinges upon. Even more curious is a hot, cartoony Frenchman who seems to have walked on from a different play entirely."
Windy City Times - Recommended
"...I recommend having a gander at this visually and verbally stunning production from Windy City Playhouse. The company has crafted a gorgeous show that finds opulence in ordinary things and is guaranteed to strengthen your vocabulary."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...When they manage to grab those moments, the production soars. Each member of the talented ensemble gets a bite or two, with Joe Zarrow's Alan, the group's requisite wise-cracking gay friend, getting the lion's share. It's a testament to Zarrow's standout performance that Alan never feels like a trope, conveying with gentle smiles and a few barbs what a mixed blessing his perfect memory can be. Rubenstein's addled, shamefaced Jane also draws the audience in with some frequency, and her moments of artifice ring the most true. The balance epitomized by these two makes for an emotionally resonant experience that, while uneven, is certainly comprised of far more ups than downs. Which, come to think of it, also sounds a lot like adulthood."
ChicagoCritic - Somewhat Recommended
"...This is also another case where the Windy City Playhouse hasn’t quite maximized the potential of their space, leaving a few seats on the end with obstructed viewing because the part of the set that’s most prominent is the one which is used the least. Near the end of the play, Jean Pierre declares that the play has been about unimportant things as though he’s making a much-needed declaration instead of stating the obvious. That’s not quite fair; well-off Manhattanites can have valid emotional problems. It’s entirely possible that the play’s themes of grief and mid-life crises well resonate with some theatre-goers, and there are some funny moments. But the bright spots are mixed in with ones that are aggravating when they’re supposed to be droll."
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"...The first time I saw “This” (it was Theater Wit first production back in 2011), I wrote that it was a sophisticated comedy about a group of 30 somethings. Windy City Playhouse’s production of “This” does have some funny bits, along with all that 30 something angst, so I guess it might be called a dramedy. “This” is well-written and very well acted"
NewCity Chicago - Not Recommended
"...The premise of "This" is that nothing is more important than your friends except your marriage, so sleeping with your best friend's husband is a gigantic violation of all that holds society together. It doesn't matter, of course, that the husband initiated the dalliance. Nor does it matter that marriage, it turns out, is a big fat drag that mostly consists of hoping your baby will fall asleep for longer than fifteen minutes, then becoming irritated, insulted, and bored when it does."