Big River Reviews
Chicago Tribune- Recommended
"...Carter has started creating a revisionist "Big River." If he took bigger risks and maybe got permission for some more structural revisions, he could help this show really shed its dated patina and bring Miller's astonishing songwriting skills to a new generation."
Chicago Sun Times- Somewhat Recommended
"...A sideshow of slavery and slapstick, “Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” at the Mercury theater is an exquisitely-performed yet completely unnecessary dusty corpse of musical theater that has been tragically exhumed, reanimated, and forced to dance a tortured jig."
Chicago Reader- Highly Recommended
"...Directed by Christopher Chase Carter with Malcolm Ruhl’s signature superior musical direction, Big River is anchored by the empathy-inducing and alternately wrenching and humorous leads."
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews- Highly Recommended
"...One of Mark Twain's famous quotes is, "Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow." So whatever day you decide to travel to the north side of Chicago, include seeing Big River at Mercury Theater Chicago in those plans."
Around The Town Chicago- Highly Recommended
"...If you love "Bluegrass", then you will fall in love with "Big River" ( The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) with music and lyrics by Roger Miller. In this musical story written by William Hauptman, adapted from the writings of Mark Twain, we take a trip down the "Mighty Mississippi" with Huck Finn ( Newcomer Eric Amundson will knock your socks off with his interpretation of this timeless character) as he helps his friend Jim (deftly handled by Curtiss Bannister) escape from slavery to freedom."
WTTW- Highly Recommended
"...But watching the stellar production of "Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," which is now receiving an absolutely stellar production at Mercury Theater Chicago, leaves you wondering why this superb 1985 Tony Award-winning musical has been so rarely revived."
Chicago Theatre Review- Recommended
"...Mercury Theater Chicago continues a legacy of excellent productions with this moving presentation. "Big River" features a cast of talented actor/singers, portraying both the main characters and the ensemble, who will knock your socks off. Featuring a reshaped script and creatively directed by Artistic Director Christopher Chase Carter, this epic journey down the muddy Mississippi is both playful and poignant. It's a show with a toe-tapping score of delightful, bluegrass tunes that will cheer and charm. And during this gray, rainy Spring, audiences "Waitin' for the Light to Shine," will find a musical that provides entertainment and enlightenment that'll break through the clouds of darkness."
Buzznews.net- Highly Recommended
"...And this production, overall, is what I've come to expect at the Mercury Theater-a new like at a classic work, featuring Chicago's finest talents sharing their voices, their creativity, their joy, and their soul, which they will be doing from now through June 11."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre- Recommended
"...Who better to trust with Big River, the musical based on Mark Twain's quintessential Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, than Mercury Theater Chicago? The results are expectedly impeccable and what it has to say is as important as ever, even if the musical itself remains imperfect."
Chicago On Stage- Recommended
"...Big River, William Hauptman’s musical adaptation of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (with songs by Roger Miller of “King of the Road” fame), tells a complicated moral tale that centers on an uneducated Missouri 14-year-old in the pre-Civil War era. Hauptman keeps most of the beats of the novel, though he loses a few scenes that, though thematically important, are such downers that they would make an upbeat musical impossible."
PicksInSix- Highly Recommended
"...The seven-time Tony Award-winning musical "Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is now playing in a bold and gritty revival at Mercury Theater Chicago, anchored by the engaging and exuberant performance of Eric Amundson, as the youthful homespun Huck, and a glass-shattering performance by Curtis Bannister as the freedom-longing slave, Jim."
Picture This Post- Highly Recommended
"...This is Big River, adapted from Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with a book by William Hauptman and country/bluegrass music by Miller. Twain didn’t etch indelible characters into the literary canon through comfortable storytelling. On the Penrods’ revolve-mounted raft, amid netting-draped beams that seem to float to the sky, Twain’s rough universe plays out. We don’t see any water or drifting debris in this production. But as directed by Christopher Chase Carter with what strikes this writer as a firm, light hand, we feel their impact. Human beings create a lot of brokenness."
BroadwayWorld- Somewhat Recommended
"...While Jim is easily the most interesting character on the stage, the second act plot is entirely plodding because it wastes an incredible amount of time on a side plot with a scheming, racist King and Duke. No offense to the nice comedic work of David Stobbe and Gabriel Fries in those roles, but that plot point really derails a good chunk of BIG RIVER. It also really detracts from the show's intent to humanize Jim and depict an unusual, complicated relationship between a young white boy and a Black man."