Bonnie's Last Flight Reviews

Chicago Reader - Recommended

"...But there is also real joy in the silly interludes in the show, as when the cast delivers the safety instructions via a synchronized dance to George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” (a nod to the United Airlines theme from long ago). Harris is a delightful Twain, and also pops up in several smaller roles (including Elizabeth Taylor). And we also get several knowing chuckles at the expense of just how bad plane travel has become in recent decades."

Around The Town Chicago - Recommended

"...One of my favorite parts of attending a performance at Rivendell Theatre is the creativity of the women who run this company. Tonight, I viewed the final production of their 30th season, a one-act play titled “Bonnie’s Last Flight” written by Eliza Bent and directed by Devon de Mayo. This very small venue has been transformed to be an airplane ( the set by Regina Garcia is almost believable), and the play itself is indeed a flight for the 40-something audience members. As I always say,”good things come in small packages,” and Rivendell proves it every time!"

Buzz Center Stage - Highly Recommended

"...On top of the cleverly crafted script and fine?tuned direction, the cast’s blend of Rivendell regulars with notable newcomers is the last flourish that makes the whole thing take off. Rebecca Spence, a longtime Rivendell ensemble member fresh off her appearance in Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Fault directed by Jason Alexander and her screen work on Taylor Sheridan’s The Madison, returns with a commanding presence as Jan, grounding the production with a performance that moves effortlessly between wry humor and quiet emotional depth."

Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended

"...Director Devon de Mayo finds all sorts of ways to allow her cast to take off as we meet them, via Regina Garcia’s set, on a Smelta Airlines plane heading to Chicago. The airline’s unfortunate name is one of the only errant choices that Bent made here; almost everything else in this script sings with a much less sour tone."

Splash Magazine - Recommended

"...Rivendell Theatre Ensemble is currently presenting the 3rd and final show in their 30th Anniversary Season, extended through October 25, 2026, at their theater namesake/home, at 5779 N. Ridge, Chicago. Written by playwright Eliza Bent, directed by Rivendell Ensemble member Devon de Mayo, it features Rivendell Ensemble members Rebecca Spence (Jan); Jessica Ervin (LeeAnn); Eric Slater (Pilot); Glenn Obrero (Co-pilot); as well as Paul Oakley Stovall (Grieg) and LaKecia Harris (Mark Twain) in a gentle, fun-loving comedy that raises important issues about life choices- those we make, and those that open up before us like the hatch to an airplane."

NewCity Chicago - Recommended

"...Flying by at a brisk eighty-five minutes, exposition in the plot is packed tighter than the storage bins of a sold-out Boeing 737. “Smelta Airlines” flight attendant Jan—played by Spence, wearing a light blue uniform, her bronze hair with shock of white pulled up in a bun—is having an existential crisis aboard a cross-country flight. She has not been grounded in one place for decades. She is insecure about her new life as a writer entering a prestigious development program, and her dog “Bonnie” is fatally ill. She agonizes over a letter from her estranged daughter whom she had given up for adoption."