Chlorine Sky at Steppenwolf Theatre

Chicago Tribune - Recommended

"...The adult cast clearly has fun rediscovering its adolescence and the director, Ericka Ratcliff, gives the show an unpretentious freshness, coupled with a set design from Yeaji Kim that has just enough digital projection to meet teens where they live and not so much to beat their imaginations into submission."

Chicago Sun Times - Highly Recommended

"...Directed by Ericka Ratcliff, Mahogany L. Browne's young adult novel in verse explores the evolution of a friendship between two teenage girls. The production delivers both dramatically and - in a number of thrilling basketball sequences - athletically."

Chicago Reader - Recommended

"...References to the sun are frequent throughout Browne’s prose, and its glow serves as an effective thematic and stylistic inspiration for Ratcliff’s production in a few ways. First, literally, in its colorful Y2K mid-aughts, Phat Farm and Juicy Couture costuming (Jos N. Banks), bright SoCal pool and basketball court setting (Yeaji Kim), and vibrant clear-sky lighting (Conchita Avitia, K Story), but also in the depicted heightened emotional frequencies that come with being a teen."

Let's Play Theatrical Reviews - Highly Recommended

"...The good news is that there is a happy ending through all of this teenage drama, which unfortunately doesn't always happen in real life because "Sometimes, growing up means growing apart." It's difficult for any teen to figure out the feats and fiascos of life, and Chlorine Sky's reliable storyline is a breath of fresh air for teens, making it a tremendous parent-teen event."

Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...Being an octogenarian, I realize that teen years and experiences are long lost memories. Thinking back to my kids teen years and now, those of my grandkids allows for me to see how different these worlds are. Social media did not exist. Rumors did and friendships did. I am sure that bullying was happening as well. Stories abut these topics are a dime a dozen, and while some of them are thought provoking, Mahogany L. Browne's "Chlorine Sky" based on her novel. To make sure one gets into this powerful character study, this 90 minute play is geared for young audiences. Yes, Steppenwolf Theâtre has normal performances in the evening, but on week-days, schools are bussed to the theater on Halsted Street to spend a morning opening up their eyes , brains and possibly souls."

NewCity Chicago - Recommended

"...The show has three great leads with expressive power and comic timing. Akili Ni Mali as Sky is a marvel of expressiveness, both physically and in her young-and-wise interpretation of the verse. Destini Huston as Lay Li strikes the right mix of mean and needy. And Samuel B Jackson, the one male actor who takes multiple roles, is so convincing in each I had to check the program to see if it were really just him in various parts."