Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended
"...But those powerful women are cut off at the knees by a show that ignores the first rule of parody, especially musical parody, which is that you have to play the truth. Do that, and the comedy will follow as sure as the landing follows the spin. But under the direction of Jon Martinez, the show makes the mistake of overplaying every moment, unleashing it from human honesty and, well, camping it up for 90 minutes, with some performances scaled as if we were all at the United Center."
Chicago Sun Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...The driving energy behind this musical, which features a book and lyrics by Elizabeth Searle (who first wrote about the skaters in her novella "Celebrities in Disgrace") and music by Michael Teoli (a Los Angeles-based film and theater composer), is a delicious one. But while there are some wonderfully larger-than-life performances in the show, the whole thing butterfly jumps far too heavily into unrelenting campiness. And under director-choreographer Jon Martinez and music director Aaron Benham, the overall presentation is so shrill (with the expert band amplified far beyond necessary, and often overwhelming the performers) that the production frequently sacrifices what could be genuinely poignant moments for louder-than-a-bomb crassness."
Chicago Reader - Recommended
"...The kitschy premise behind Elizabeth Searle and Michael Teoli's new musical-relitigating Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan's 1994 Winter Olympics figure-skating fiascovia musical theater-sounds like the inspiration for a piano-only 45-minute late-night Annoyance or Upright Citizens Brigade set. At its heart, that's what I suspect this Underscore Theatre Company production, directed and choreographed by Jon Martinez, more closely resembles, though this ensemble has the comedic and vocal chops to more than fill an hour and half on Theater Wit's full-size stage."
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...The production take a tabloid approach to the story of rivalry and desperation as the quest for Olympic stardom overtakes each skater. We see the role of the mothers both played by Veronica Garza as she belts her way through the opera."
Around The Town Chicago - Recommended
"...Can you remember "the whack heard 'round the world"? Do the names Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan help? According to my own scientifically conducted poll - I asked my husband and my daughter - I got a fifty-fifty on name recognition. At any rate, if you watched ice skating and/or the Olympics in the '90s - or read the tabloids - you might remember the headlines. "Tonya and Nancy: The Rock Opera" is a campy dramatization of the whole Tonya-Nancy rivalry - start to finish."
Chicago Theatre Review - Somewhat Recommended
"...This news story that rocked the Olympic world is brought to life in a colorful, energetic and often campy production that nicely lends itself to National Enquirer parody. The rock opera format, like a pair of well-fitting skates, is especially tailor-made for this tale of determination, jealousy and greed. However, despite all the talent and hard work behind this production, without the proper balance between accompaniment and cast, audiences will unfortunately find this 90-minute musical is skating on thin ice."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Not Recommended
"...Based on the title itself, any musical theatre aficionado walks into the theatre thinking this will either be a hilarious parody, an insightful biopic or an absolute train wreck. Sad to say, emergency crews are still on the scene."
PlaylistHQ - Highly Recommended
"...This production should be called Harding and Kerrigan: The Rock Musical Comedy. Their first names don’t immediately make clear what the show is about, but no one will be confused when they see their last names. They will instantly remember the attack on Nancy Kerrigan on January 6, 1994 coordinated by Tonya Harding’s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly. It is this event and the 1994 Olympics in that February that is the center of this exciting story. Also, the mood of this play is more funny than dramatic, thus the change to Musical Comedy from Opera. With this change, the audience will be in the right mindset to enjoy this well produced show."
Picture This Post - Somewhat Recommended
"...Underscore Theatre Company and Harborside Films have brought us back to the early 1990's with their production of Tonya & Nancy The Rock Opera! now playing at Theater Wit. The subject itself is, of course, real-life as most of us will remember. While the show may seem like a fun and taunting look at the events themselves for most of the production, it seems to want to aim more at the nature of celebrity and how society feeds upon the media frenzy so often created by tabloid journalism."
Splash Magazine - Recommended
"...Tonya and Nancy: The Rock Opera is a shrewd, funny and fast-paced song-and-dance rendition of the famous conflict between 2 American figure skaters in the early 1990’s and the media frenzy that surrounded these events."
NewCity Chicago - Recommended
"...The sordid story of rival skaters that made journalists feverish with schadenfreude seems tailor-made for an opera. After all, how can you go wrong with a blonde and a brunette, a goody-two-skates and a bad girl, daddy issues and mommies dearest and the rumpus of crazed fans and paparazzi watching every microsecond in slow motion on repeat with commentary for the tiniest slip? Underscore Theatre Company delivers with a cast that sings their guts out, dances their pants off and gamely executes faux triple lutzes, penalties be damned. With thirty-one musical numbers in ninety-five minutes, an astounding recruitment of neon and spandex and nearly every actor careening at a madcap pace between multiple characters, the play radiates like a strobe light hitting a disco ball."
