Chicago Tribune
- Highly Recommended
"...But Isherwood's novel "Goodbye to Berlin" was written as the Nazis were already taking up space at the Kit Kat Club and alarms bells were ringing. The new show at Court Theatre, a world premiere simply titled "Berlin," ranges further back into the heart of the Weimar Republic, and centers not just the denizens of a nightclub but a whole variety of characters, all inhabiting what at the time was perhaps the most exciting city in the world."
Chicago Sun Times
- Highly Recommended
"...A homegrown Chicago project of jaw-dropping ambition and exhilarating theatricality, playwright Mickle Maher and director Charles Newell's adaptation of the graphic novel "Berlin" at the Court Theatre brings to dynamic life an artistically daring, sexually decadent, politically divided city as it descends into fascism."
Talkin Broadway
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Court Theatre is presenting the world premiere of Mickle Maher's adaptation of Berlin, the graphic novel by Jason Lutes. Directed by Charles Newell, the cast is strong and the staging is stylish and there are moments that capture the frenetic, desperate energy of Berlin in the last days of the Republic, but the intersecting stories are pursued in relatively piecemeal fashion, making for a somewhat emotionally unsatisfying production."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Highly Recommended
"...Mickle Maher's eagerly awaited world premiere adaptation of the 22 graphic novel series Berlin by Jason Lutes now on at University of Chicago's Court Theatre opened with an extension, so it's a hot ticket. And well it should be: if you have been feeling like these times are a deja vu of the 1930's authoritarian regimes, watching this fast paced, endlessly in motion epic play will not calm your nerves. In fact, watching newspaper editors be jailed and queer people be rounded up, even while this play's characters say that's not about me, or they would never- and then they do-it may send you out of the theatre in a panic attack."
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Berlin's origins come from a comic book series by Jason Lutes, which was then re-released in book form. The series describes life in Berlin from 1928 to 1933, during the decline of the Weimar Republic. The play exhibits fluid yet chaotic pacing that keeps the audience engaged but occasionally disoriented. Lutes, the playwright, is often critiqued for his pacing issues, and I felt that some scenes appeared to be inserted without a clear purpose or connection to the surrounding narrative."
Around The Town Chicago
- Recommended
"...Director Charles Newell has done an incredible job of creating controlled chaos in many of these scenes. There are instances when this "Berlin" can feel almost like an agit-prop theater piece from the late 1960s, especially as actors drag tables across the stage to create irritating and grating rattles or knock over chairs in the path of each other's blocking. But those are merely sensory triggers. Listen closely to what Maher has honed in on the most from the novel by Lutes. You will find that it's the ubiquitious theme of time."
Chicago Theatre Review
- Highly Recommended
"...Meticulously adapted from Jason Lutes? graphic masterwork, Mickle Maher?s sprawling spectacle is at once admirable, astonishing and awe-inspiring. It also serves as a warning as the play?s frighteningly prescient of similar events occurring in the United States today. The play?s populated with an array of fascinating politically, socially and economically diverse characters, and it examines how an ever-changing Berlin effects them all. Charles Newell has directed a truly gifted company comprised of twelve terrific actors to effectively bring this epic tale to life. The result is a moving and memorable portrait of a thriving and ever-changing metropolis, a city in transition."
Buzz Center Stage
- Highly Recommended
"...Court Theatre?s world premiere of Berlin, adapted by Mickle Maher from Jason Lutes? monumental graphic novel, is a breathtaking achievement. Directed with precision and deep sensitivity by Charles Newell, Berlin brings the chaos and beauty of Weimar-era Germany to stunning life on stage, rendered in an unforgettable 1930s noir style."
The Fourth Walsh
- Highly Recommended
"...BERLIN is spectacular! It is wildly entertaining, historically poignant and uncomfortably relevant. It's already been extended to meet ticket demands. This is THE hot ticket in Chicago right now! Buy a ticket to BERLIN fast! This is the timely cautionary tale."
Third Coast Review
- Highly Recommended
"...Jason Lutes took some 20 years to complete his graphic novel, Berlin. Condensing Lutes? 550-page magnum opus into theatrical language is no easy feat but Court Theatre has brought it to the stage in a masterful adaptation in a world premiere production."
PicksInSix
- Highly Recommended
"...The world premiere of Court Theatre's "Berlin"-adapted by Mickle Maher from the epic graphic novel by Jason Lutes and directed by Charles Newell-that opened Saturday is a searing examination of the decline of Germany's Weimar Republic from 1928 to 1932, told through the stories of those caught up in the chaos of the inter war years and the rise of fascism."
NewCity Chicago
- Somewhat Recommended
"...This problem aside, there are some wonderful things in ?Berlin.? The story of Gudrun Braun and her daughter Silvia is the most compelling. Laidlaw gives a touching performance of a warm-hearted, exhausted woman who stumbles into communism by accident and pays dearly for it. It?s a marvelous trick to have Laidlaw also play Hitler?the narcissistic, cold-hearted madman. Terry Bell, who plays an American jazz musician, is also terrific as an oily, seductive Goebbels. The moments when Goebbels and Hitler take the microphone are terrifying."
