Catch as Catch Can at Steppenwolf Theatre

Chicago Tribune - Somewhat Recommended

"...Chung is a highly skilled and accomplished deconstructionist, a subversive mode of great popularity in the academic reaches of the theater four or five years ago, and not without interest, fans or students. But it’s not one likely to secure this art form’s future, especially not at a theater so famously grounded in reality."

Daily Herald - Recommended

"...The production, directed by Morton with her trademark economy and precision, is razor-sharp. Still, the gimmicky conceit of doubling the actors makes for some confusing moments, particularly during scenes when we hear only one side of a conversation or when simultaneous conversations occur. While Chung provides the full text in a script appendix, that doesn't help theatergoers in real time."

Chicago Reader - Recommended

"...Hopper in particular is astounding in a scene between Tim and Theresa where, like the characters, we're not entirely sure at first what is being said or if we're hearing correctly. Francis, who is pure comic gold as the blunt but good-hearted Lon, also shows us that Daniela (a born problem-solver like her dad) is a stand-in for every working woman who also juggles the endless obstacles of the healthcare system for loved ones."

Talkin Broadway - Highly Recommended

"...Steppenwolf Theatre Company concludes its fiftieth-anniversary season with the Chicago premiere of Catch as Catch Can. Mia Chung's play tasks three actors with playing two characters each to create the claustrophobic, chaotic world of the Lavecchias and the Phelans, a pair of families whose lives are deeply entangled across multiple generations. With Amy Morton directing an excellent cast, Steppenwolf's production keeps the plates of absurd humor and bleak trauma spinning with ease."

Stage and Cinema - Somewhat Recommended

"...Director Amy Morton has her hands full here balancing two drastically different tones, but she pulls them both off with aplomb, much to my surprise. That’s not a knock on her talents but the fact that the first half of the play is so cringey, I’m surprised that anyone could make it work, even slightly. It clearly helps that the three actors beautifully mesh with each other. The characters may not quite work, but the comic timing is flawless."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended

"...Every once in a blue moon you see a spectacle of such talent made to look so easy that you feel overwhelming awe. This week I am not talking about the Knicks. For one of its celebratory productions of 50 years as a company, three utterly skilled Steppenwolf ensemble members under the flawless direction of ensemble member Amy Morton create a work of such astounding adeptness that you want to go back and watch it again and learn how they do that.'

Let's Play Theatrical Reviews - Recommended

"...Director Amy Morton delivers a masterful performance behind the scenes, skillfully guiding this exhilarating theatrical production that feels like a high-speed train rush. She navigates the complex narrative, which can be problematic if lines are missed, ensuring it never derails into chaos. The pacing is rapid-fire, with actors shifting between characters in the blink of an eye, often within mere seconds of their last line. This demanding choreography requires not only remarkable precision but also impressive stamina, and the talented cast of Cole, Francis, and Hopper is nothing short of amazing in this production. Their talent and versatility shine through, captivating the audience with compelling performances."

Around The Town Chicago - Recommended

"...There are many theater people who talk about “Type Casting”. This is when certain actors are always playing roles that are about the same, and very much a fit to their own persona. Many of us are quite familiar with actors like Gary Cole from NCIS, The West Wing and even some episodes of Chicago Fire. Tim Hopper is always thought about as the “Maytag Repair Man” ( replacing Jesse White), and as the Arson Investigator on Chicago Fire, and Audrey Francis ( Steppenwolf’s Co-Artistic Director), and someone who has done a lot of work in and around Chicago’s stages and TV shows. Three talented actors, directed by Chicago P.D.’ Amy Morton in what I might call a “tour de Force” written by Mia Chung, called “Catch As Catch Can”."

Chicago Theatre Review - Recommended

"...CATCH AS CATCH CAN is long one-act drama, generously laced with lots of comic moments. It’s populated with interesting characters of different ages, all of them related, either through blood or friendship. It’s a play about how we all exist day-to-day, trying to get through our lives while doing the best we can with what we have available. Sometimes things work out perfectly but, more often than not, they become more complicated and provide further challenges. After all, that’s what life is: sometimes confusing, sometimes crystal clear, but always a fascinating fulfillment."

Buzz Center Stage - Highly Recommended

"...Mia Chung’s Catch as Catch Can, which premiered with Page 73 in New York in 2018, arrives at Steppenwolf Theatre - one of Chicago’s most dynamic and daring artistic institutions - with a production that immediately embraces the play’s slippery, shape-shifting nature. Chung’s script thrives on emotional volatility and fractured identity, and Steppenwolf’s staging taps into that energy from the outset, preparing the audience for a world where the familiar can tilt, distort, and reassemble without warning."

The Fourth Walsh - Highly Recommended

"...Roberta and Theresa worry about their kids. Roberta fears the divorced Robbie is canoodling with his ex and that Danielle and Sam will never get married. Meanwhile, Theresa is concerned she has only met Timmy’s elusive fiancé once. A Christmas party brings moms, sons, daughter and husband Lon all together under the same roof. The six rush to get the house ready for a relative invasion. It’s more chaotic and hilarious than expected since the work is being done by only three people."

Third Coast Review - Highly Recommended

"...Steppenwolf Theatre ends its 50th anniversary season with a production that reflects the company’s core identity. Ensemble member Amy Morton directs Mia Chung’s Catch as Catch Can with trademark attention to character behavior and rhythm. The result is sheer Steppenwolf: actor?driven staging built on close observation and emotional clarity."

Chicago On Stage - Highly Recommended

"...Steppenwolf has been known since its inception as an actors’ theatre, even in its first years performing at a rented space in a Unitarian church in Deerfield, but even this hallowed company has never before found anything like the show that is currently on its stage. It’s not often that a single show provides three different actors this kind of tour de force opportunities, but that is quite accurately the way to describe Mia Chung’s powerful and unusually structured Catch As Catch Can."

PicksInSix - Recommended

"...What a challenging piece of theatre this is. Three actors play six different characters in Mia Chung's diabolically clever play “Catch as Catch Can,” now playing at Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre through July 12. In director Amy Morton’s eloquent staging, the solid trio of actors play two characters each. They offer an adult child and a parent—a son to the mother or a daughter to the father. We jump genders and ages, even while standing alone."

Curtain Call Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...The production’s structural framework—three actors playing six family roles could come off as a theatrical parlor trick if left in lesser hands. But here, the challenge is given to some of the best and most capable actors and director in the biz."

Splash Magazine - Highly Recommended

"...What is enthralling about this production is the unusual structure of the material itself. As Marshall McCuhan (a cornerstone scholar of media theory) famously said in 1964, “The medium IS the message”. The form of communication embeds itself in the message, contouring the very essence of human understanding. The choices made by Chung in how the script is crafted shape our understanding of the story, like an hourglass shapes the sand it holds. As you watch, not only the personae shift in mid-scene; the world in which they live simultaneously slips through the narrow center and isn’t the same when it emerges below."

Werner's Theatre Reviews - Somewhat Recommended

"...Steppenwolf Theatre completes its 50th Anniversary Season with the Chicago premiere of Catch as Catch Can. Originally premiering at the New Ohio Theatre in New York City on October 22, 2018, Steppenwolf planned to produce Mia Chung’s play in the summer of 2020. After a global pandemic and six years of delays, the play has finally arrived at Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theatre. The production offers both strengths and shortcomings, and a second viewing may prove beneficial for audiences hoping to catch everything taking place on stage."

BroadwayWorld - Not Recommended

"...I left Catch as Catch Can at Steppenwolf Theatre Company on Sunday night wondering exactly what I had just seen, and what, if anything, I was meant to take from it. In part, playwright Mia Chung’s play presents as an acting exercise: It centers on two families — the working class Lavecchias and Phelans of New England — but only three actors play all the roles. In Amy Morton’s production, ensemble members Gary Cole, Audrey Francis, and Tim Hopper bridge age and gender to play various combinations of parents and children among the two. But to what end? It’s not clear. I thought perhaps Catch As Catch Can would offer some sort of meditation on the parent-child relationship. Perhaps it was meant to explore how children become their parents? It doesn’t."