Chicago Tribune
- Somewhat Recommended
"...But one can imagine the musical possibilities as Ennis fights his layers of taciturn self and as Jack realizes that his chirpiness is a defense mechanism yet to be unlocked. Both Jack’s parents (played by Thomas Cox and Eggleston) and both wives (played by Dewdney and Alina Jenine Taber) have plenty to sing about, too. Sure, “Brokeback Mountain the Musical” has the ring of a parody, but that misunderstands the piece, the emotional capacity of musicals and the iconic stature of these two characters, especially in Pride month."
Chicago Sun Times
- Recommended
"...This stage version, written by Ashley Robinson and directed by Jonathan Butterell, can’t compete with the epic visual scope of the film, so it doesn’t try. The script is highly faithful, probably overly so, to Proulx’s original story."
Daily Herald
- Recommended
"...One of the loveliest moments in Butterell’s production is their post-coital exchange after four years apart. Lying in bed together, Jack recounts injuries he sustained during his ill-fated bull riding career as Ennis gathers him into his arms. The gesture suggests what they could have, what they could be to each other. But when Jack, a desperate dreamer, proposes they work a ranch together, the repressed, resigned Ennis rejects the idea, fearing it could get them killed."
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...Robinson’s play had its world premiere at London’s @sohoplace in 2023, but in a program interview, Robinson says that he first encountered Proulx’s story via a screening of the film in Chicago. That speaks to the universality of the story of closeted lovers, though Proulx’s story provides enough detail of what she describes in the program as “the tawny landscapes” of Wyoming for us to feel like we’re right there camping beside Ennis and Jack."
Stage and Cinema
- Recommended
"...The best element of the stage adaptation of Brokeback Mountain is the addition of the folk-country music soundtrack, with fine original songs penned by Dan Gillespie Sells and beautifully sung live by Kat Eggleston, who is accompanied by a country-western band onstage. I’d go further and say that it’s a genius idea."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Highly Recommended
"...Seeing this superb nuanced production was a perfect way to kick off Pride Month and all of the issues we are facing as a nation where homophobia has become ok to exhibit once again and every day brings another anti trans initiative. A story that highlights the character’s humanity and love, and helps us understand the costs and what we lose when we stop seeing people and only see the role. "
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews
- Somewhat Recommended
"...Brokeback Mountain is sure to earn top honors from its devoted fans, yet it carries an air of lethargy that can dim its narrative. The production feels as if it lags at times, calling for a faster pace and a dash of vibrancy to truly captivate its audience."
Around The Town Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"..This adaptation by Ashley Robinson is a 90 minute ( no intermission) small cast play with music that brings this story from book and film to live theater and does so with great power. The music written by Dan Gillespie Sells is sort of a narrator/balladeer ( Kat Eggleston is terrific) and the musicians, led by Jacob Yates make the production something special."
Chicago Theatre Review
- Highly Recommended
"...This poignant play, filled with so much emotional depth, uses music to enhance and comment on the men’s repressed emotions. It stars two handsome, charismatic actors who totally throw themselves into their roles with complete honesty and conviction. The chemistry between Ball and Kay is undeniable. But theatergoers be warned that this powerful play is strictly for mature audiences and contains nudity and adult situations. It is, however, the perfect way to kick off Gay Pride Month with a play that’s particularly topical today, about the love that dare not speak its name."
Buzz Center Stage
- Highly Recommended
"...Butterell's direction is masterful. He understands that the power of Brokeback Mountain lies not in grand declarations but in silences, glances, and opportunities missed. Every scene is infused with aching restraint, allowing the audience to feel the enormous weight of what remains unspoken. The result is a production that slowly tightens its grip on the audience."
The Fourth Walsh
- Recommended
"...BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN is both a tender and poignant play. And -unfortunately- it’s a story of bigotry that still needs to be addressed in 2026 as LGBTQ rights are threatened. We must protect and celebrate that everybody has the right to love who they love. Happy Pride Month!"
Third Coast Review
- Highly Recommended
"...It all began with a short story published in the October 13, 1997, issue of the New Yorker. And then it became an Academy-Award winning film, later an opera, not to mention countless online forums, cartoons, parody posters, TV skits, and magazine covers. Now it is a play with music."
Chicago On Stage
- Recommended
"...Keeping up my recent streak of oddly-focused reviews, and also realizing that I should by all rights have written a final review of this play almost a week ago, it’s finally time to review Chicago Shakespeare’s production of a play that originated in England even though it is about Wyoming: Brokeback Mountain, based on a story by Annie Proulx, though most people will associate it more immediately with the phenomenal, poignant, and breathtaking movie that should have won Best Picture of 2005…except that, since it was about gay people, it didn’t."
PicksInSix
- Recommended
"...The North American premiere of Ashley Robinson’s "Brokeback Mountain" now playing in Chicago Shakespeare Theater's Courtyard Theater, directed by Jonathan Butterell, stays meticulously true to Annie Proulx’s short story that appeared in the New Yorker in 1973, a publishing event that transformed the mainstream platform for gay and queer storytelling forever after. Over thirty years would pass before Ang Lee’s 2005 film adaptation starring the late Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal which was nominated for eight Academy Awards winning three for Adapted Screenplay, Original Score and Ang’s direction."
Curtain Call Chicago
- Highly Recommended
"...Few productions are able to rely on a quiet confidence that allows stillness and quiet to speak louder than speeches and spectacle, but the highly anticipated play Brokeback Mountain at Chicago Shakespeare Theater does exactly that—and in so doing, delivers one of the most emotionally resonant theatrical experiences of the season. In a theatrical landscape often driven (lets be honest) by excess, Chicago Shakespeare Theater has delivered something rare: a work of profound emotional precision, anchored by exceptional performances."
Chicago Culture Authority
- Recommended
"...Much of the play focuses on the perilously high stakes of starting such a relationship in the West of the early 1960s. We hear about people murdered on the suspicion they were gay. We see how those who suspect Jack and Ennis are lovers shun and disparage them. Ennis in particular is terrified of the potential consequences of what was seen at that time, in that place as a nearly unthinkable transgression."
Werner's Theatre Reviews
- Highly Recommended
"...The stage adaptation of Brokeback Mountain made its North American premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theater in June 2026. Based on the 1998 National Magazine Award-winning short story by Annie Proulx, the play made its debut at the @sohoplace in London’s West End on May 18, 2023. The new adaptation by Ashley Robinson with songs written by Dan Gillespie Sells, underscores the enduring relevance of its exploration of queer love, identity, and the societal pressures that shape them.`"
BroadwayWorld
- Recommended
"...Rugged masculinity meets forbidden queer romance in Brokeback Mountain. Based on Annie Proulx’s short story (which was adapted into a buzzy 2005 film starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger), Ashley Robinson’s play follows the clandestine romance between ranchers Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar over 20 years in rural Wyoming."
NewCity Chicago
- Recommended
"...Ashley Robinson’s adaptation of Annie Proulx’s short story “Brokeback Mountain,” in its U.S. premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, is indebted to its source text, stirring in its portrayal of the violence of the closet and the contradictions of American homophobia. Directed by British director Jonathan Butterell, who also directed its 2023 premiere in London, Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s “Brokeback” presents Proulx’s love story as a play with music."
