Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...Sherman focuses on two specific aspects of Chagall: first and foremost, his Jewish identity, which comes under threat over the course of the play, and, second, his identity as an artist who repelled conventional genre, whose particular multi-formatted take on Modernism variously encompassed symbolism, cubism, Fauvism and surrealism or all of them at once. Despite only being in his 30s, Chagall finds himself fighting off the illiberal forces who have taken over the arts, insisting that Chagall is a dinosaur and that the new ways are the only righteous ways forward."
Chicago Reader - Recommended
"...Chagall's dreamy assemblages, saturated blues, with goats and hens as sentient as fiancees and brides all drifting in an alternate gravity, are no longer the fashion. "I should have been a lawyer"-or a farmer-or a soldier, he laments to Berta, his encouraging wife, who loves him more than diamonds. (As played by Yourtana Sulaiman, Berta is charming, sensual, saucy, and devoted to Moshka the man and Marc Chagall the artist with a conviction that is an extension of her own self-assurance. No man deserves such a woman-except Berta is not wrong: he is Marc Chagall.)"
Chicago Stage and Screen - Recommended
"...In fairness though, that may be as it should be: no one could believe it was happening when it did. But lest you think it's all serious and dry, fear not- Chagall in school has moments of comedy and mirth- several in the form of David Yackerson played by David Lipshutz. And the banter between Peter Ferneding's Alexander Romm and Daniella Rukin's feminist Vera Ermolaeva is a delight.
There are no great conclusions in this play, but there is a great deal to think about and learn."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...Chicago audiences are keen on the works of James Sherman ( local boy and all), Many of his plays are very "Jewish" works ("Beau Jest", "The God of Issac" and "The Escape Artists") and others just a hint. Grippo Stage Comapny is unfamiliar to me with the exception of Mr. Sherman's "The Ben Hecht Show" which I know they produced. Put them together and we have a new play written by a Chicago playwright under the banner of a new theater company at one of the unique and special storefronts in Chicago, Theater Wit- a perfect evening of theater, art, laughter and education."
WTTW - Highly Recommended
"...Chagall assembled a notable faculty of traditional and radically modernist artists (the latter including El Lissitzky and Kazimir Malevich), and it was here that the trouble began. It is this clash of artistic egos and political outlooks that drives James Sherman's immensely entertaining play, "Chagall In School," a Grippo Stage Company production now receiving its world premiere at Theater Wit."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Filled with unexpected, sometimes off-the-wall humor, as well as intelligent, enticing arguments about the nature of art and creativity, James Sherman's new play, having its world premiere in Chicago, is charged with electricity and enlightenment. Perhaps in lesser hands than those of director Georgette Verdin, this play might not be as exciting and enchanting. But with its strong cast, their honest characterizations, and such exquisite, colorful staging, audiences are sure to leave the theater having learned something new about these real people from history, while recognizing that the purpose of art is always to share one's soul with the world."
Third Coast Review - Highly Recommended
"...Art is enmeshed in the politics of the Russian revolution in James Sherman's new play, Chagall in School, now being staged by Grippo Stage Company at Theater Wit. Georgette Verdin directs this world premiere, based on events in the life of artist Marc Chagall and featuring a star-studded roster of famous artists of the period. Sherman's dialogue is crisp and well-written to illuminate the divisions in this century-ago world of art and politics."
MaraTapp.org - Highly Recommended
"...The lure of Chagall in School is its success with balancing art, ideas and revolution while leavening those heady subjects with humor. James Shermans' new play is about the several years in which Marc Chagall returned to his Russian hometown of Vitebsk, assembled a faculty of artists and started a free school for anyone who wanted to make art. And there the fun begins. Sherman's play puts its audience right in the middle of a series of intense discussions about the meaning and power of art but there are plenty of laughs as the artistic corps tangles and faces the limitations of Russia in the years right after the Bolshevik Revolution. Director Georgette Verdin is equally effective whether its intellectual debates or high jinks. The actors clearly enjoy the lively dialog, whether it is passionate or playful acting makes this an enjoyable evening with arguments and ideas that resonate after the show."
Loop North News - Highly Recommended
"...In Chagall in School, now playing at Theater Wit in Chicago's Lake View neighborhood, the audience gets an unvarnished look at what goes on behind-the-scenes in the art world and the ultimate result of anguish for the artist. Thankfully for the world, Chagall went on to create the most beautiful, colorful, and engaging art ever seen."
