Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...this unusually frank drama has been gnawing away at me these last 24 hours. Some of the staging is awkward at first, as director BJ Jones has to keep moving his chatty couple around their abode, and it all feels too meandering and awkward. But the scenes between Guinan and McClain are distinctive enough to all be interesting - and thanks to these fine actors, several scenes truly are on fire. I see so many plays that want to blurt out some of the things that these characters say but don't have the nerve. This one goes for the jugular."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...First, Bruce Graham’s play, “White Guy on the Bus,” now in its world premiere at Northlight Theatre under the take-no-prisoners direction of BJ Jones, is an altogether incendiary examination of race in this country. And Graham says things that many other playwrights would quickly self-censor."
Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...BJ Jones’s wildly talented cast commits their all to the entire conceit. But seeing White Guy on the Bus on opening night, amid an almost entirely older and white Skokie audience—most of whom I have a hard time imagining taking a bus—left me wishing Graham had left his race card up his sleeve."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...Most important to the show's success are Guinan and McClain's performances. Guinan's Ray loves the people close to him dearly, but is a masterful manipulator when he's not overcome with rage. In one person, you see both the dedicated family man and the cutthroat businessman-turned avenger. I've enjoyed Guinan in roles as a bumbling hero and a comedic villain, but he's equally engaging with this dark character. McClain's Shatique is also a clever warrior for her family, but I was not bothered by her initial agreeability toward Ray. She has rage of her own, yet for now retains her morals. The power struggle between these two is so painful because they hold nothing back in their condemnations of each other's entire lives and personal character, and they both make strong cases."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...BJ Jones’ directing accomplishments in this production that are worth mentioning most are the execution of the script and conveying the playwright’s message to the audience. Also, within the staging, Jones made it clear that the scenes between the lavish house were flashbacks from the past and the scenes with Shatique on the bus and in her home were in the present."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Understand , first of all, that this is a World Premiere, so we are getting to see it from the "git-go". While the title may have you thinking that this will be a story with some type of reversals on Rosa Park and her story, it is not even close to that. The story does involve racism and delves into the racial and socioeconomic divide that is a part of our world. The time is now, in Philadelphia. But from the very onset of the lights coming up (there is no curtain on this very simple set by John Culbert) that allows director BJ Jones to open our eyes and ears to the story that Graham is telling. One must pay very close attention in order for the unfolding story you will see ,to be clear as a bell."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Northlight Theatre continues to bring exciting new, cutting edge dramas to Chicago audiences, along with occasional revivals of of tried and true comedies and dramas. This latest play by Bruce Graham is a challenging, courageous script that’s part morality play, part thriller. In BJ Jones‘ insightful, penetrating production Chicago’s post-holiday theatrical season is off to a bang in this chilling new production that will provoke much thought and conversation."
Chicagoland Theater Reviews - Highly Recommended
"...The production under B. J. Jones’s razor sharp direction moves with the literacy and pace of a comedy of manners turned into high drama. Francis Guinan is magnificent as Ray, a man drifting through an unsatisfying career until an act of violence turns him into an implacable avenger. It’s a performance of unstinting conviction that builds into a fury that can make the viewer shudder."
NewCity Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...The culmination of it all does little more than make the viewer uncomfortable. Patrese D. McClain puts in a very moving and emotionally charged performance as Shatique (a hardworking and loyal young mom who visits her imprisoned brother every Saturday), but it is not nearly enough to save this production."
